President Trump’s shock choice of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general was met with shock and disbelief by some Senate Republicans, a sign that his nomination faces an uphill battle in the Senate.

“He has his work cut out for him,” Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa told reporters shortly after Trump announced Gaetz’s nomination Wednesday afternoon.

Mr. Gaetz, a highly controversial Republican firebrand in Congress who is currently under investigation by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee over allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, is now in line to head the immensely powerful Justice Department – the same organization that had investigated him over sex trafficking allegations (the lawyers declined to file charges early last year).