Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate his loyalist Matt Gaetz as the US Attorney General.
As chief law enforcement officer, Gaetz will be instrumental in taking stances on important issues like abortion and civil rights laws.
Who is Matt Gaetz?
The Florida Rep was first elected to the Congress in 2016. Gaetz earned his degree from the William & Mary Law School in 2007. His Florida bar licence was suspended for a short time in 2021 over unpaid fees.
Gaetz was among the conservatives who made Kevin McCarthy wait through 15 ballots in his bid for House speakership. Subsequently, Gaetz was instrumental in ousting McCarthy, who alleged that the former wanted to stop the ethics complaint against him.
Interestingly, the Department of Justice, which he is expected to lead, was probing a sex trafficking allegation against him in 2023. The investigation ended with no charges against Gaetz. The House Ethics Committee was probing the allegations against him in coonection with the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl, following which Gaetz resigned from the House on Wednesday.
Due to this history, Trump and Gaetz drew flak over his nomination as AG. Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said there is no "worse and more unqualified" nominee than Gaetz, pointing out that he has demonstrated contempt of the rule of law as a Congressman.
A former Homeland Security official, Olivia Troye, said Gaetz has been on the run from the law for a while and hence he will think he is about it and will be "corrupt as hell".
Trump took to Truth Social to praise Gaetz, saying he is a "deeply gifted and tenacious" attorney and has pushed for reforms in the Department of Justice. He added that Gaetz will help put an end to the "weaponised" government, protect the US borders, crack down on criminal outfits and restore Americans faith in the justice department.
