Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz on Wednesday as a House committee prepares to debate whether to release a potentially explosive report into the former Florida Republican's drug abuse and sexual allegations. , returned to his former base on Wednesday and wooed Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Republican senators. Cheating.
Gates, 42, smiled at photographers as he entered the Capitol building alongside Vance, 40, ahead of a scheduled meeting with Republican senators. Some are skeptical that the Sunshine Stater will be confirmed as the nation's top law enforcement official.
Sources told the Post that initial conversations about Gates' nomination were “positive,” with President-elect Donald Trump urging senators to approve one of his most controversial Cabinet picks. He is said to have been personally involved in lobbying activities.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one of the close aides who will soon become the 47th president during the transition period, also supported Gates, calling him the “hammer of justice” and “Judge Dredd.” , “America needs to clean up corruption.'' system. “
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina): “I had a very good meeting with Matt Gaetz, President Trump's nominee for Attorney General, and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.'' Posted on Wednesday by X.
“I am committed to allowing the process to proceed in a manner consistent with past practice and basic fairness. This process is not rubber stamped or driven by a lynch mob.” he added.
“I'm concerned that the process surrounding Mr. Gaetz's nomination has turned violent and that unconfirmed allegations are being treated as if they were true. I've seen this movie before. .
“I urge all of my colleagues in the Senate, especially Republicans, to not join the lynch mob and deny it the opportunity to move the process forward. After a years-long investigation by the Department of Justice, charges against Matt Gaetz have not been filed. “This is something we all need to remember,” Graham continued.
“I would also encourage my colleagues to go back to the proven process that gives candidates the opportunity to receive relevant information and make their case for why they should be approved, which I have followed for many years. This standard has been beneficial to the Senate and the country.”
Still, some have expressed interest in reviewing the ethics committee's two-year investigation into Gaetz's alleged payments for sexual favors.
Centrist Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), as well as soon-to-be Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) ) called for full transparency.
“I would like to say to the public, not just Mr. Gaetz, but any member of the Cabinet, who wants to get through this: If you give us the information that we want, we'll get it to you faster,” Grassley said Tuesday. ” he said. “If they want to consider this nomination quickly, we have to be as transparent as possible.”
“I really don't know what President Trump thinks about this.” [are]'' Collins also told reporters. “The constitutional role of the Senate should be respected. We need decent court nominees. , a public hearing is required.”
An Iowa State spokesperson told the Post on Wednesday that Grassley had already spoken with Gaetz and that the two had “substantive discussions.”
“Mr. Grassley has encouraged Mr. Gates to speak with other members of the Judiciary Committee on both sides of the podium,” the spokesperson added.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), another member of the Judiciary Committee; told the Wall Street Journal He said he “absolutely” wants full background checks on all candidates and suggested the committee subpoena witnesses in the Ethics Commission investigation.
“We need access to all information to do our job, but we also need to protect the president from unforeseen events that could damage his administration,” he said. told the media.
The Republican Senate majority stands at 53-47, meaning the conference can only lose up to three votes to confirm Gaetz.
meanwhile, ABC News Late Tuesday, it was reported that Gaetz paid more than $10,000 through Venmo to two women who testified that Gaetz sent money to congressmen in exchange for sex.
One of the women had sex with a 17-year-old girl at a party in July 2017, during Paul's first term in the House of Representatives, said Joel Leppard, an Orlando-based attorney for both women. He claims to have seen him doing it.
Gates has steadfastly denied all charges, and the Justice Department chose not to prosecute him following a years-long investigation into alleged sex trafficking of minors.
Rep. Susan Wilde (Pennsylvania), the top Democrat on the Ethics Committee, has advocated for the Gaetz report to be released not only to senators but also to the public, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) ) insists that it is important to reveal the details of the investigation into the incident. The former lawmaker would “open Pandora's box”.
“There is a very important reason for the tradition and rule that we have always had and almost always followed, and that is that we do not issue investigations or ethics reports on people who are not members of Congress,” he said. He spoke on Fox News. Sunday. “
In December 1987, House members filed an unfinished report on Rep. Bill Bonner (D-Tenn.), who resigned two months earlier to run for mayor of Nashville, over his relationship with a government contractor. was actually announced.
A longtime lawmaker, Gaetz spent two years at a law firm in Florida's Panhandle advocating for government transparency before serving in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress.
He resigned from the 118th Congress on November 13, hours after President Trump nominated him to be the next attorney general.
