‘It Won’t Even Be Close’: As Many As 30 Republican Senators Are Reportedly a ‘No’ on Matt Gaetz
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A new report from The Wall Street Journal paints a bleak picture of Matt Gaetz’s chances of being confirmed as attorney general.
President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Gaetz — who has no judicial or prosecutorial experience — for the powerful post on Wednesday, and Gaetz quickly resigned from his seat in Congress days before the release of a House Ethics Committee report into allegations that he “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.”
Senate Republicans, who hold a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber of Congress, are apparently unenthused by the prospect of Gaetz serving as the country’s top cop. While just a couple members of the conference (Gaetz can afford to lose only three) have already announced their intention to oppose Gaetz, others have expressed skepticism. The Journal suggests that behind closed doors, the resistance to him is even more entrenched.
From its report:
One person familiar with the conversations among Republican senators said “significantly more than four” of them are opposed, which would be enough to tank Gaetz’s chances. “People are pissed,” the person said.
Other estimates ranged from more than a dozen Republican “no” votes to more than 30. “It won’t even be close,” another person said.
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has said that he “absolutely” wants to see the House Ethics report on Gaetz before casting his vote on whether to confirm him or not, while Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) has observed “that Matt Gaetz has a very long, steep hill to get across the finish line.”
“And it will require the spending of a lot of capital, and you just have to ask: if you could get him across the finish line, was it worth the cost?” added Cramer.
