On Thursday, former Congressman Matt Gaetz announced he was withdrawing from consideration of newly elected President Donald Trump to serve as attorney general in his administration. The day before, after a two-hour closed-door meeting, the House of Representatives Ethics Committee announced that it would not issue a report on Gaetz at that time, the culmination of an investigation into allegations that Gaetz participated in sex parties, used illegal drugs and had sex with a minor. Gaetz reportedly announced his withdrawal from X after being asked for comment about testimony about an alleged second and previously unreported sexual encounter with the minor, according to CNN. (Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and the DOJ closed its investigation into him without filing charges.)

Gaetz was just one of many controversial Cabinet picks we’ve seen from Trump as he prepares to return to the White House, with both Democrats and Republicans expressing surprise and concern. In fact, Gaetz’s sudden decision to remove himself from consideration a day after courting senators was less surprising to some than the choice itself. “Holy s—! I didn’t see that coming,” Senator John Fetterman reportedly said sarcastically after learning of Gaetz’s withdrawal. Some Republican senators are reportedly “relieved” by the news.

Still, Gaetz’s withdrawal and the uncertain future of the ethics report do not derail the trajectory the president-elect has already set for his future Cabinet — a trajectory that includes not only the unqualified, but also men accused of sexual assault. There’s no “relief” in sight now that the charges against Gaetz didn’t automatically disqualify him from day one consideration. There will be no relief as a result of his withdrawal, potentially allowing the former congressman to evade responsibility and avoid further investigation.

Instead, lawmakers will continue to scratch their proverbial heads over Trump’s choice of former WWE executive and former Small Business Administration administrator Linda McMahon as education secretary or television host and surgeon Mehmet Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. By any logical, reality-based standard, these choices would unanimously be considered laughable, inappropriate, and even reprehensible — but Trump has made it clear that normal standards no longer apply.

When Trump appointed Gaetz to head the Justice Department, attention immediately turned to the sexual abuse allegations surrounding the embattled lawmaker, including claims that he had sex with a minor and was allegedly involved in sex trafficking along with his former friend Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking in 2021.

“Why is he so determined to choose the most controversial rabble-rouser he can think of for every post?” NBC News’ Chuck Todd wrote, arguing that it “just doesn’t make much sense politically” for Trump to name a man investigated by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct. A bevy of Republican senators were reportedly “stunned, and not in a good way,” by Gaetz’s choice. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, responded to the news by asking a reporter, “Are you me?”

Yet it feels painfully naive to be surprised by all this. The overall disturbing theme is that men accused of sexual misconduct are not a bug, but a feature of the inner circle that Trump is assembling for his administration.

When the country first decided in 2016 that a man accused of sexual assault or harassment by more than two dozen women was fit for the highest office in the land, I was admittedly shocked.

I watched in horror as acquaintances and family members celebrated Trump’s ascension to office when, just weeks earlier, he was heard on tape bragging about grabbing women by their genitals without their consent. I have tried to follow the mental gymnastics deployed by the very people who at one point expressed their sincere condolences, well wishes, and righteous indignation after I was sexually assaulted by a former colleague, only to praise their god when Trump declared a victory obtained at the electoral college.

I navigated the triggers of post-traumatic stress disorder as the first President Trump supported Roy Moore, a man accused of having relationships with underage girls (Moore denied the allegations), and defended his former White House staff secretary, Rob Porter, after being accused of multiple counts of domestic violence (Porter denied the allegations but resigned). I cried when Judge Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court – the testimony of his accuser Christine Blasey Ford was thrown away like the rape kit I endured and which to this day still sits on a shelf somewhere in Oregon collecting dust and indifference gathers.

As the country prepares for Trump 2.0, despite his two impeachments, 34 felony convictions and a jury finding him liable for sexual abuse, that shock has eroded. And it has been replaced by a cold disassociation that overtakes body and mind, as so many promises that good will conquer evil and justice will prevail crumble before your eyes.

It’s a feeling that many, including 1 in 6 women and 1 in 10 men who will ever be victims of sexual violence, know all too well. It’s what bombards the senses when you live in a country where less than 7% of rape cases end in conviction. It’s the familiar slap that precedes a local prosecutor telling you there isn’t enough evidence to go to trial; they are sorry, but there is nothing they can do; this is what happens when it’s ‘he says, she says’.

It’s also why more than 200 survivors of sexual assault and gender-based violence signed a full-page ad in The New York Times urging voters not to put Trump back in the Oval Office. While others may have forgotten the tumult that marked his first presidency, those of us who called sexual assault hotlines at record speed during confirmation hearings and listened to him argue that his accusers were too ugly to rape have not.

We know all too well how the country has historically appeased toxic, misogynistic men into positions of power, overlooking or even embracing their sexist rhetoric as simply “men being men” or, later, engaging in “locker room talk ‘. We remember some Republican lawmakers calling our bodies “hosts” and claiming that “legitimate rapes” would not lead to pregnancy unless the same political party pretended to “respect life” and uphold “family values.”

That’s why very few of us were shocked when Gaetz at one point allegedly showed sexual videos of women to his fellow members of Congress in the House of Representatives, or when he cast the lone “no” vote on an anti human trafficking law of 2017.

And that’s why we weren’t surprised when prosecutors closed the investigation into whether Gaetz recruited women for sex online and paid with cash apps without filing charges.

Even as Gaetz withdraws, Trump’s Cabinet picks appear to simply be a disaster: a collection of men accused of sexual assault, harassment or rape and whose career trajectories appear unaffected by the allegations.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman who worked in his home in the 1990s, responded to the accusation by saying on the Breaking Points podcast that he was “not a church boy” and admitting that he has “so many skeletons in my closet.”

And then there’s former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who was investigated in connection with allegations of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017 and then paying to keep her quiet. No charges were filed and his attorney denied the allegations.

In this context, President-elect Gaetz’s choice as attorney general, despite his withdrawal, feels like yet another canary in the coal mine, alerting those who need to be reminded of what is likely. to come.