Even America’s most spineless senator doesn’t want Matt Gaetz to be attorney general.
In a Thursday Newsmax appearance, Texas Republican Ted Cruz was asked for his thoughts on President-elect Trump’s potential nomination of the loathed and embattled MAGA Representative Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general.
The senator initially dodged the question, instead accusing Joe Biden of weaponizing the Justice Department and “infecting” it with partisan bias. He eventually addressed Gaetz, avoiding any advocacy of the nominee.
“I will say that was a pick that was, I think, very surprising to the entirety of the Senate. And so we’ll assess the nominee on the merits, said Cruz. “But there is a process that will unfold that examines a particular nominee’s background, their experience, and their suitability for a role.”
Cruz was much warmer to the idea of his “dear friend” Senator Mike Lee as the attorney general pick, and reiterated the seriousness of the position.
“I don’t know that there’s a more important position in this Trump administration than the attorney general,” said Cruz. “And so I think it’s critical to have someone there who will follow the law, who has integrity, who is a constitutionalist, and who has the courage to root out the incredible partisanship and weaponization that has infested this DOJ.”
Gaetz grew unpopular within the Republican Party’s elected leadership after his destabilizing ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. His attorney general nomination is currently jeopardized by a House Ethics Committee probe into allegations of trafficking and having sex with a 17-year-old girl at a drug-fueled party in 2017. Gaetz resigned from Congress in an effort to end the investigation, but it is expected to be leaked in the coming days.