By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just over a week after being nominated to serve as Attorney General, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name and has been replaced.
Amid a flurry of ethics investigations and sexual misconduct allegations, Gaetz released a statement Thursday, part of which read: “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General.”
“He saw the writing on the wall. He was hoping for a more receptive audience for the Senate,” said Casey Burgat, an assistant professor and Director of Legislative Affairs at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. “He knew he wasn’t going to get there. People were telling him publicly and even probably more aggressively behind the scenes that the votes just weren’t there.”
Soon after Gaetz’s announcement, President-elect Donald Trump announced his new pick: Pam Bondi, a prosecutor of nearly two decades, former Florida Attorney General and part of Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial.
“She’s obviously a Trump defender. She’s been in the Trump orbit. She’s literally defended him in court, in a multitude of court cases. So, the loyalty test is obviously there,” said Burgat.
Burgat says Bondi can not only bring her legal experience to the Department of Justice (DOJ) but that she’s also likely to see a smoother confirmation process in the Senate than Trump’s first pick would have.
“This might be where the Gaetz nomination can actually help her out, in that she comes next, maybe a more compromising candidate,” said Burgat. “Maybe the Trump campaign is making the orbit that she checks the loyalty check box and maybe can bring that experience there that a Senate might find at least acceptable when compared to Gaetz.”
Despite being reelected to serve Florida’s 1st Congressional District earlier this month, Gaetz announced Friday he would not be returning to Congress, fueling rumors that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis could appoint him to fill the vacant seat of Sen. Marco Rubio (R- FL), Trump’s pick for Secretary of State.
“His resignation statement kind of opened that possibility, saying that he wouldn’t take his old job back, obviously leading to the question of, well, will he take a new one, like a senator. If DeSantis chooses it, it can be so. We can imagine if the former president is still advocating for Gaetz then there’s going to be pressure put on Ron DeSantis from Trump specifically,” said Burgat. “That would be an escalation too, he might just want to go a different route and turn the page on Gaetz entirely.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Bondi would oversee the DOJ’s more than 115,000 employees and roughly $45 billion budget.
