TOI correspondent from Washington: MAGA supremo Donald Trump achieved a trifecta on Thursday, winning a narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives, in addition to taking the White House and the Senate. But from the start, the president-elect is testing the limits of his grip on the Grand Old Party (GOP), now infused with MAGA zeal, by choosing controversial young loyalists to key posts in his incoming administration, in moves that have some Republican bigwigs to see. as scandalous.
While Trump’s choice of Tulsi Gabbard as the country’s intelligence czar alarmed the US strategic community, his choice of Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz for the post of attorney general has stunned even Republican lawmakers, some of them the Florida maverick have been accused of sexual misconduct and deviant behavior. . At least two Republican lawmakers have explicitly accused Gaetz, 42, of having sexual relations with underage girls, with the feud over the issue dating back to before the 2024 election.
Moments after Trump named him presumptive attorney general on Wednesday (he will have to be confirmed by the US Senate), Gaetz resigned from the congressional seat he had just won from Florida, ostensibly to pre-empt a report of the House Ethics Committee regarding the soon-to-be-released allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drugs. The report cannot become public if he is not a member of the House of Representatives (his resignation was enthusiastically accepted by the Republican chairman), but the prospect of a media leak is keeping lawmakers on edge.
Gaetz, and for that matter Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominees for Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of Defense respectively, will face a trial by fire in the US Senate confirmation hearings after the president-elect takes office on January 20, 2025. Technically, presidential appointments for Cabinet members and top government posts must be made “with the advice and consent of the Senate,” but senators, who have long been proud of that. independent-minded, can torpedo nominations by voting them down. The confirmation hearings are also preceded by extensive background checks by intelligence and security services, and nominations are often withdrawn if there are negative reports.
Republicans will have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, as will the majority of Senators Trump loyalistsThere are independent-minded holdouts who can trip up nominations if they believe they are unsuitable, pose a risk to national security, or threaten the party’s fortunes. Sometimes they do that out of personal pique.
At least four senators, including Chuck Grassley of Iowa (the oldest member at 91), Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, appear to have reservations about some Trump nominees, and along with anti-Trumper Mitt Romney they may stumble. the chairman. Perhaps anticipating this, Trump is pushing for recess appointment powers that would bypass the confirmation process and allow him to install nominees without hearings in Congress.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess appointments. IMMEDIATELY!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform a warning shot after MAGA’s preferred pick of Senate Majority Leader Rick Scott lost to a more moderate John Thune. Trump’s MAGA acolytes, such as Senator Tommy Tuberville, warned that lawmakers who oppose the choices of the president-elect risk losing their seats, arguing that Trump had the mandate to make appointments as he pleases.
The Gaetz nomination will be particularly fraught for Trump, as a circular firefight involving the Florida maverick and senior Republican lawmakers has already taken place. After losing a piece to become leader of the House of Representatives, Trump critic and loyalist Kevin McCarthy said, “I’ll tell you the truth about why I’m not speaker. It’s because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to drop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old.” Another Republican lawmaker, Tony Gonzales of Texas, was more blunt on a TV show, saying, “I serve with some real assholes. Matt Gaetz, he paid minors to have sex with him at drug parties.