So I've been struggling over the past week trying to write up about the dangers of trump's incoming Cabinet picks - a number of them absolutely unqualified for their positions and arguably dangerous in those offices - when the most notorious and ill-advised pick - Matt Gaetz for Attorney General - found out this morning how screwed his chances were and opted to withdraw his name (via Elena Moore, Deidre Walsh, and Lexie Schapitl at NPR):
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is withdrawing his candidacy to be President-elect Trump's attorney general, after sex trafficking and drug use allegations threatened to imperil his confirmation.
After meeting with Republican senators to discuss his nomination, Gaetz, a conservative firebrand from Florida and a loyal Trump defender, wrote on social media Thursday that "it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition."
Trump's pick to lead the Department of Justice has faced concern and questions from Republicans all week. His decision to bow out puts some of those to rest.
When trump announced Gaetz as his Attorney General pick, the original response from most congresscritters - the ones who knew Gaetz and knew full well how much of a scuzbucket he is (allegedly) - was a mixture of shock and horror. Never mind how he had absolutely zero experience in law enforcement or legal jurisprudence to serve as the top federal prosecutor: Gaetz was facing a major ethics probe ordered by former Speaker McCarthy of his own party - the details of which kept leaking even as the Republicans on the committee voted not to release it to the public - which made it difficult for the Republican senators to happily back the move.
One horrifying thing is that while Gaetz is no longer up for an important Cabinet position - one that trump wanted twisted to serve his plans for revenge - he is still going to sit in the same U.S. House of Representatives that investigated him for his sexual and drug abuses. He had resigned once trump offered him the AG post as a means of squashing that incoming ethics report, but because he'd been re-elected by a Florida district that doesn't fucking care that their representative is an alleged sex offender Gaetz is going back to get sworn in to the next session. Surrounded by colleagues who know how much of a pervert he is.
(This begs the question if that ethics report can come back in the next congressional term to bite Gaetz on his ass. It would be nice if it did.)
The other horrifying thing is that trump still has a roster of loyalist Republicans willing to do his dirty work of turning the Department of Justice into his personal Department of Vengeance. Deciding to stick with picking someone from the Insanity State, trump tabbed former Florida AG Pam Bondi for the spot. While Bondi has the legal experience to serve at that job, she's better known as one of the state attorney generals who refused to pursue fraud charges on Trump University even after it became known she solicited trump to donate to her re-election campaigns. This cost the victims in Florida a chance to recover their money from the $25 million settlement trump agreed to avoid the court ruling. She is bought and paid for, America, and trump will insist she prove her loyalty by attacking everyone he wants destroyed.
If there's any good news from all this chaos, it's how the Senate Republicans made it clear they weren't going to roll over and beg for mercy the way trump and his MAGA supporters wanted. Befitting his role as the bully, trump had been signaling he wanted all of his Cabinet selections - as bad as they are, Gaetz was just the most noticeable disaster - regardless of any senatorial objections. he's out there threatening to use an obscure recess maneuver to circumvent the Senate's role of approving appointments. he tried getting his loyalist Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott elected to Senate Majority Leader (if there's any real good news, Scott didn't even make it out of the first round of ballots). One of trump's loudest lackeys, Sen. Tuberville, tried to threaten retaliation on his fellow senators should they refuse to accept trump's picks.
But if there's anything about U.S. Senators - regardless of party - it's that senators enjoy the power they wield within the federal system. Being a senator is almost as good as being a President, with just about the same number of perks and with fewer headaches. Those powers to "advise and consent" on things like Cabinet/Judicial appointments and foreign policy are things senators will not give up willingly.
While a Republican-controlled Senate will likely grant trump most of what he's asking - much like they did when they approved the likes of Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court - even they have to abide by their own standards, to which many of trump's other Cabinet appointments - some of them like Pete Hegseth getting exposed with their own scandals as I write this - are going to face a hard public review.
This isn't going to get easier. It's going to get crazier, as trump keeps looking for ways to blow this all up.
Gods help us. Again.
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