President-elect Donald Trump's unexpected picks for leadership roles at the Department of Justice (DOJ) send a clear message to the establishment that his policies will not be beholden to career bureaucrats this term.
After struggling with his choices during his first administration and being indicted by the Biden-Harris Justice Department, he nominated Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general and appointed defense attorneys to other top slots. 's decision reflects Trump's desire to be surrounded by people. They are people who fully support his vision for the department and are prepared to stand up to bureaucratic forces seeking to undermine his efforts.
“Mr. Gaetz is clearly an outsider and a disruptor, and that's the point,” former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Gaetz is “exactly what President Trump promised the Justice Department during the campaign, which is to end the department's leftward drift on legislation, censorship, and election interference.” Cherkasky said he is a “supporter who often falls into Trump's orbit” and would not put up as much resistance as former Attorney General William Barr.
Article III Project Senior Advisor Will Chamberlain I wrote At X, Gates' selection is best understood as “Trump's statement that it's not 2016 anymore and there will be no internal coup against a sitting president.”
President Trump's sudden announcement of Gaetz drew much criticism and also heightened uncertainty about his viability as a candidate.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy I wrote National Review found that Nathan Wade, who was in charge of Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis' case against Trump before a judge's ruling forced him to resign over their romantic relationship, , said he would “likely be confirmed” as attorney general. Gates.
“Mr. Trump needs strong, experienced people who are widely respected for their legal acumen and bureaucratic know-how, especially at the Justice Department, where they can chew up and spit out outsiders who don't know how things work on the ground.” “How can a seasoned adversary thwart a novice?” McCarthy said, adding that Gaetz “is one of the leading supporters of efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.” “He is not qualified to hold that position.” election. “
this. The biggest problem of the Trump administration was Trump's own Justice Department. It was a drag on the entire presidency. I don't begrudge Mr. Trump for choosing an absolute supporter of AG. https://t.co/xt6rfnTPxD
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) November 13, 2024
Gates is a “100,000-volt option” that signals Trump's emphasis on outsiders and sets the stage for “one of the most intense confirmation battles in Congressional history,” George said. said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at the University of Washington. I wrote Thursday.
“This nomination may have a strange effect on the nomination race,” he told X. “It's probably going to draw attacks and resources from other candidates. In fact, other candidates may seem less controversial by comparison.”
Cherkasky told DCNF that Trump has been relatively quiet about Republican South Dakota Sen. John Thune's election as Senate Majority Leader, saying he believes Trump is “certain to win.” “I am convinced that this is the case,'' he said, pointing out that it probably would have caused even more “public outcry.'' If Tune didn't promise support.
President Trump's picks for three positions below attorney general also show that loyalty played an important role in his decisions.
Lawyers who defended Mr. Trump from criminal charges this year were also nominated to top positions at the Justice Department. President Trump nominated Todd Branch as deputy attorney general, Emile Bove as chief deputy attorney general, and Dean John Sauer, who gave oral argument in President Trump's immunity appeal before the Supreme Court, as attorney general.
We are building a great team at the Justice Department in the Trump/Vance administration.
Todd Blanche and Emile Bove are excellent litigators and first-rate legal thinkers.
We can't wait to serve the American people. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/11VTaDgSDd
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 14, 2024
Some conservative lawyers greeted Mr. Trump's nominations with greater enthusiasm.
Ed Whelan, a constitutional law scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said, “President-elect Trump's choice for attorney general, John Sauer, is an excellent lawyer with extensive experience.'' disapproval Gates' nomination. “These are exactly the qualities we should expect in senior positions at the Department of Justice.”
Sauer too claimed Significant case challenging the Biden administration's censorship efforts in the 5th Circuit.
Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who served in the first Trump administration, congratulated Mr. Blanche and Mr. Bove, but did not congratulate them. mention Gates.
“Those who criticize unqualified appointees should praise the president for choosing qualified people in good faith,” Rosenstein said. I wrote Friday on X. “As acting attorneys general, Todd Blanche and Emile Bove will not allow partisanship to sway the Department of Justice's prosecution. The rule of law will prevail. Qui pro domina justitia secteur.” (Related: 'I'm crying a little bit': Michael Cohen battles with Trump's lawyers in heated cross-examination)
NEW YORK, NY – May 16: Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks to the media as former President Donald Trump leaves the court on trial for allegedly concealing hush money payments in a Manhattan criminal case. , speaks with attorney Todd Blanche. May 16, 2024, New York City courtroom. (Photo by Jeenah Moon-Pool/Getty Images)
“Wise and Bold” Leadership
Trump's allies are concerned about opposition from career prosecutors, who are tasked with carrying out the leadership's directives beyond the top positions.
“President deports illegal aliens, secures borders, bans race-based affirmative action and DEI, investigates anti-Semitism, ends Big Tech censorship, January 6th” If the president wants to grant pardons and commutations to defendants in “We have every right to expect these things to happen. There are perfectly legal policies in place, and it is completely unacceptable for career employees to try to block this policy agenda.” said attorney Mark Paoletta. transitionwrote to X Wednesday.
Article III Project Founder Mike Davis I wrote X claims that the job of Justice Department officials is to “carry out legal orders.”
Career prosecutors fear they will be forced out of the department, Politico reported Sunday, days before President Trump announced Gaetz's nomination.
Stacy Young, Justice Department Gender Equality Co-Founder network An attorney for the Civil Rights Division told the media that many federal employees “fear that we will be replaced by partisans.”
Another Justice Department lawyer said on condition of anonymity that lawyers in the Politico division were “insane.” (Related article: “Isn't it funny?”: Scott Jennings says Trump is “feeling empowered” by appointing Matt Gaetz as AG)
“The fear is that career leaders and career employees around the world will either retire or be forced out,” the lawyer said.
The Biden-Harris Department of Justice has filed two criminal cases against Trump and charged hundreds of people for their actions at the Capitol on Jan. 6 using obstruction laws aimed at financial crimes. . The Supreme Court ruled in June that the Justice Department had interpreted the law too broadly.
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has repeatedly used the Freedom of Access to Clinics Act (FACE) to prosecute pro-life activists.
Paoletta pointed out that the Constitution vests executive power in the president, not “an unelected lawyer who helps the president exercise his powers.”
“Public officials who claim they are acting in resistance to these policy initiatives are disingenuous because they are doing so to protect the rule of law,” he wrote. “They should be fired because they are undermining the rule of law and destroying democracy.”
The main problem with Matt Gaetz is that he used his office to prosecute political opponents and gave federal agents the power to harass parents who were peacefully protesting at school board meetings. That's true.
Oh, wait, that's actually the current Attorney General, Merrick Garland.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) November 14, 2024
John Malcolm, director of the Heritage Foundation's Meath Center for Law and Justice Research, told DCNF career prosecutors that if they were dissatisfied with the department's direction, they should “consider resigning and joining the private sector.” Ta.
“One of the things you shouldn't do, and you shouldn't do, is try to ignore the instructions of your superiors within your department,” he said. “After all, they were neither elected by the American people nor appointed by the president to serve in the administration. Anyone who attempts to sabotage the president's policies from within will be severely reprimanded and charged with insubordination.” should be reassigned or fired.”
One reason the department needs “smart and bold” leadership is because career employees who disagree with leadership can “find quiet ways to undermine the job,” Trump's Justice Department said. Jesse Panuccio, a former third-ranking official, told DCNF.
“If someone doesn't want to do the job, there's a lot of meat and potatoes at the Department of Justice that can be reassigned,” Panuccio said.
“If they want to be an activist, Washington has a lot of think tanks and 501(c)(3)s and law firms to work for,” he continued. “They don't need to be on the payroll of the taxpayers who just elected this president and supported the policies and people he appoints.”
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
