Trump's choice to lead justice department stuns - but also sends strong message

Donald Trump’s nomination of Congressman Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general has arrived like a thunderclap in Washington.

Of all the president-elect’s picks for his administration so far, this is easily the most controversial - and sends a clear message that Trump intends to shake up the establishment when he returns to power.

The shockwaves were still being felt on Thursday morning as focus shifted to a looming fight in the Senate over his nomination.

Trump is assembling his team before he begins his term on 20 January, and his choice of defence secretary, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, and intelligence chief, former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, have also raised eyebrows.

But it is the firebrand Florida politician Gaetz making most headlines. He is perhaps best known for spearheading the effort to unseat then-Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy last year. But he has a consistent history of being a flamethrower in the staid halls of Congress.

In 2018, he brought a right-wing Holocaust denier to the State of the Union, and later tried to expel two fathers who lost children in a mass shooting from a hearing after they objected to a claim he made about gun control.

His bombastic approach means he has no shortage of enemies, including within his own party. And so Trump's choice of Gaetz for this crucial role is a signal to those Republicans, too - his second administration will be staffed by loyalists who he trusts to enact his agenda, conventional political opinion be damned.

Gasps were heard during a meeting of Republican lawmakers when the nomination for America's top US prosecutor was announced, Axios reported, citing sources in the room.

Republican Congressman Mike Simpson of Idaho reportedly responded with an expletive.

“I don't think it's a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said. “This one was not on my Bingo card.”

Gaetz does have some allies on Capitol Hill who share an unwavering loyalty to Trump. The Florida lawmaker has been one of the president-elect's most aggressive and relentless defenders - at congressional hearings, in press conferences and during television appearances.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, another devoted Trump loyalist, called Gaetz an "accomplished attorney".

"He's a reformer in his mind and heart, and I think that he'll bring a lot to the table on that," said Johnson.

In a social media post, Trump spelled out how he intends to use Gaetz as a wrecking ball to radically change the US Department of Justice, which he has regularly blamed for his multiple legal troubles.

“Matt will root out the systemic corruption at the DOJ, and return the department to its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and constitution,” he wrote.

During the campaign, Trump promised retribution for the numerous investigations launched against him. Now, it appears, Gaetz will be at the frontlines of Trump’s efforts to bring the justice department to heel.

The department also investigated Gaetz himself.

Last year, it declined to bring charges over allegations he violated sex trafficking laws during a trip he took to the Bahamas with paid escorts.

He was the subject of an ongoing ethics investigation in the House of Representatives into allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and misuse of campaign funds.

But on Wednesday evening, reportedly just two days before a highly critical House report on the investigation, Johnson said Gaetz had resigned as a lawmaker, effectively ending the House probe since the committee only investigates members.

Gaetz has denied all the allegations against him.

According to CBS News, Gaetz had asked Trump for a pre-emptive pardon for any related crimes prior to the president leaving office in January 2021.

All this makes him an unlikely choice for a position that typically goes to more senior politicians, well versed in law.

Gaetz, 42, has a law degree and worked for a Florida law firm before his eight years in Congress. Joe Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, was a senior federal appellate court judge. Trump in his first term picked US Senator Jeff Sessions, and later Bill Barr, who had decades of experience in Republican presidential administrations.

The Senate will be responsible for confirming Gaetz’s nomination, and the Florida congressman has ruffled more then a few feathers in that chamber – including among Republicans. While his party has a majority, it would only take four “no” votes, joined by unified Democratic opposition, to sink his chances.

Gaetz himself said last year that he would love to be attorney general while acknowledging it was unlikely.

“The world is not ready, probably,” he told Newsmax in an interview. “Certainly Senate confirmation wouldn’t be, but you know, a boy can dream.”

For the moment, however, Trump’s closest supporters are celebrating his pick.

“The hammer of justice is coming,” Elon Musk posted about Gaetz on X.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome of Gaetz’s bid to be attorney general, Trump has fired a warning shot across the bow of US government. While his second term in office may be more organised than his first, it may end up being even more confrontational.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense the presidential election in his twice weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.