Matt Gaetz pick roils Justice Department

Image via AP.

Donald Trump’s choice of Matt Gaetz to be attorney general has many Justice Department employees reeling, worried not only about their own jobs but the future of the agency that the Trump loyalist has railed against.

The president-elect’s pick of the Florida Republican sent a shock throughout the Cabinet department, considering Gaetz’s lack of experience in law enforcement and the fact that he was once the subject of a federal sex trafficking investigation. The names of well-regarded veteran lawyers had circulated as possible contenders for the job, but Gaetz’s selection was broadly interpreted as an indication of the premium that Trump places on personal loyalty and Trump’s desire to have a disruptor lead a department that for years investigated and ultimately indicted him.

Career lawyers at the department interviewed by The Associated Press, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share their feelings publicly, described a widespread sense of being stunned by the nomination — even outrage. They spoke of being flooded with calls and messages from colleagues as soon as the news broke.

Some inside the department were not immediately sure that Gaetz, who graduated law school in 2007 but has spent most of his career as a lawmaker, including in Congress, was even a lawyer. And some are already looking for new jobs as concerns grow over Gaetz’s rhetoric about going after the “deep state.”

Trump described Gaetz as the right person to “root out the systemic corruption” within the agency, end “weaponized” government and “restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.” Trump has yet to announce a similar leadership change at the FBI, though one may be coming given his long-running criticism of the director, Christopher Wray.

Gaetz faces continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that ended without criminal charges. Before his resignation from the House on Wednesday, he had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which was examining whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts and tried to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that he will “strongly request” that the House committee not release the results of its investigation, rebuffing senators who are demanding access now that Gaetz has been picked for attorney general.

Gaetz has denied all the allegations. On Friday, he posted on X, formerly Twitter, that “lies were Weaponized” in an effort to try to destroy him.

Justice Department employees were already preparing for major shakeup to the agency’s agenda around civil rights and others matters before Trump settled on Gaetz to be the nation’s top federal law enforcement officer.