Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, Rubio Secretary of State Create Reaction

It culminated with Trump tapping Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general on Wednesday, selecting one of the House’s top flamethrowers and grandstanders who himself has been under investigation by the chamber’s ethics committee. Trump chose former congresswoman and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard as his Director of National Intelligence, and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary. Both Hegseth and Gabbard served in the military, though each were dark-horse selections by Trump known more for being media personalities than for their influence on national security matters.

Trump ally and his former political strategist Roger Stone — who posted Trump’s statement about appointing Gabbard before even Trump did — had just days ago claimed that “they won’t be able to get the clown car into the White House” with Wiles leading its operations.

That appeared to no longer be the case by Wednesday, at least in the eyes of longtime party insiders and traditional operators who had hoped Trump’s claims of turning the federal government upside down were more of a wink and a nod than a real plan.

It’s left much of Washington — and even some of Trump’s own allies — perplexed, and less certain than ever that the second Trump administration will be more professionalized than his first, as some had hoped after the highly disciplined campaign Wiles and co-campaign chair Chris LaCivita ran.

And it’s poised to put the relationship between Trump and newly minted Senate Republican Leader John Thune to the test, with the president-elect not only pushing the body to use recess appointments to install his Cabinet and bypass normal protocols but daring them to oppose his picks.

“We went from some solid picks, to some interesting wildcards, to some that are more than controversial, no way confirmable,” said Matthew Bartlett, a GOP strategist and appointee under Trump’s first administration. “This is Trump daring the U.S. Senate. This is Trump potentially usurping the U.S. Senate and going to try to put people in place through recess appointments, which could mean we’re at a Constitutional crisis from the start of Trump’s second term.”

It did not go unnoticed by some in Trump’s circles that Gaetz traveled with Trump on his trip to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Just the night before, some in Trump’s orbit believed that Andrew Bailey, Missouri’s attorney general, and Robert Giuffra, the head of Sullivan and Cromwell, were among the top contenders for attorney general, according to one person familiar with deliberations.

Not everyone in Trump’s inner circle was thrilled with his choice, according to one person with knowledge of the matter, though they said that ultimately it’s Trump’s call. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill and ranking member of Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNN when asked for a reaction, “Yeah, I don’t know. I’m going to have to think about that one.” (ER: Graham’s no longer around.)

For days, some Trump allies had hailed his lengthy list of appointees so early in the transition process as indicative of the legwork that transition chairs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon put into vetting candidates and readying his second administration, as well as the disciplined operation Wiles was running.

“To me what I see is decisiveness. They’re moving quickly. I think they’re not really struggling to find talent. They’ve got a deep bench here and a lot of people who want to serve and are excited to serve. I like the decisiveness of it,” said Scott Jennings, a GOP strategist and former aide to President George W. Bush. “It signals to me they’re going to hit the ground running.”

“You ought to be looking forward to a pretty hopping winter,” he added.

But there were also signs that Trump is less concerned with qualifications for his new Cabinet posts than with finding roles for allies who have been loyal to him — the one thread that ties together all of Trump’s appointments from his first week as president-elect.

“President Trump is picking his most competent loyalists first — as he should,” Mike Davis, a former GOP Senate aide and prominent conservative lawyer who had been floated as a possible attorney general, told POLITICO on Tuesday.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s selection as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security raised eyebrows after she was dismissed early on in Trump’s search for a running mate, and has not been viewed as one of the party’s leading thinkers on immigration policy.

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, Trump’s new Environmental Protection Agency administrator who is widely respected by Republicans across the party’s spectrum, but has no specific background in environmental issues — even from a deregulatory perspective. Multiple officials from Trump’s first administration had expected an announcement later — likely in December, when Trump made his EPA pick the last go-around — and Zeldin’s name was not in the mix.

While Hegseth has experience in the military, with three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, the former executive director for Vets for Freedom and former CEO of Concerned Veterans for America has no defense policy experience and was picked as Defense secretary, alarming national security officials and defense analysts.

***

In turning to Gaetz — who the Justice Department under the Trump and later Biden administrations investigated but did not charge over alleged sexual encounters with teenage girls — for attorney general, the president-elect is attempting to put one of his fiercest defenders in charge of, in his words, “ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System.”

Still, Trump could be in for a tough confirmation fight for Gaetz, particularly if it goes through the traditional process. Democrats immediately balked at his selection, meaning Gaetz can only afford to lose four GOP votes if it comes to it. But in Republicans’ new majority, rejections from moderate GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, also wouldn’t be enough to tank him. Collins has already expressed concern about his nomination, per Punchbowl News.

“I thought it would be hard for Trump to continue to surprise us. Certainly it’s a surprise. But it shouldn’t be,” said Ryan Williams, a GOP strategist and former aide to Mitt Romney. “It’s clear he wants loyalists in these Cabinet positions. He wants to rat out the ‘deep state’ and use the DOJ as headquarters to rat out the ‘deep state’ and Gaetz is the ultimate pick to do that.”

CONTINUE READING HERE

Featured image source, Marco Rubio: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-sen-marco-rubio-speaks-at-2024-republican-national-convention

***********