Former President Trump shocked and appalled some Republican lawmakers on Wednesday by announcing plans to nominate Rep.Ā Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for attorney general.
Why it matters:Ā Republican reaction to even Trumpās most controversial nominations has been muted so far, but placing the scandal-prone right-winger in the nationās highest law enforcement role is a step too far for many.
āWe wanted him out of the House ā¦ this isnāt what we were thinking,ā quipped one House Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly about Trumpās decision.
What weāre hearing:Ā Trumpās announcement was met with audible gasps by House Republicans during a conference meeting on Wednesday afternoon, multiple sources in the room told Axios.
One House Republican in the meeting described the conferenceās response as āstunned and disgusted.ā
What theyāre saying:Ā āGaetz has a better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II than being confirmed by the senate,ā said Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), referring to the British monarch whoĀ died in 2022.
Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.), noting that Gaetz isĀ under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, said he would be āa compromised AGā and that āthere are better choices.ā
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she was āshockedā by the pick: āThis shows why the advice and consent process is so important and Iām sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing.ā
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said Gaetz has āgot his work really cut out for himā to get confirmed.
Yep. Iām curious to see how shocked, stunned and disgusted they really are.
They are going to be so shocked, stunned, and disgusted that theyāre going to march right into the Senate chamber and vote the way he fucking told them to vote, but with a really big frowny face. I mean, itās the strongest message that the United States Congress could possibly send to him. What else are they supposed to do? Voteā¦againstā¦ him? Criticize himā¦publicly? He might send out a mean tweet on both Twitter and Trump Social. These are politicians weāre talking about here! With cushy jobs and six figure salaries and staff people who have staff people. They canāt handle two mean tweets in one day!
They are all putting on their lip balm and puckering up to kiss his rotten asshole.