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Will Matt Gaetz pass the Senate nomination process? He may not need to

Matt Gaetz’s nomination as Trump’s attorney general is not guaranteed

Rhian Lubin
Thursday 14 November 2024 17:25 GMT
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Related video: Tommy Tuberville threatens Republicans who might vote against Trump’s pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz

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Donald Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz for attorney general has stunned many in the Republican party.

If Trump gets his way, the former Florida representative will become the top law enforcement officer in the United States – a position that the president-elect could utilize to seek revenge on his opponents and enemies.

Gaetz, a Trump loyalist and controversial figure in Congress, was subject to a Justice Department investigation into allegations of sex trafficking. He was ultimately never charged with a crime but remained under a House ethics investigation.

Following his resignation with immediate effect on Wednesday, that House probe has effectively also come to an end as Gaetz is no longer within the chamber’s jurisdiction.

In addition to the 15 officials Trump will choose to join his cabinet, there are hundreds of positions, including ambassadors and lower-level roles, that typically require Senate approval.

Even though Republicans have clinched a majority in the Senate, given the strong reaction to Gaetz’s potential appointment, it is not guaranteed he will be confirmed as attorney general.

Matt Gaetz’s nomination as Trump’s attorney general is not guaranteed
Matt Gaetz’s nomination as Trump’s attorney general is not guaranteed (AP)

Here’s two options for what could happen next...

  1. Gaetz needs to be confirmed by the Senate

Typically, cabinet positions require Senate approval which, given the reaction to his nomination, could leave Gaetz on shaky ground.

Following last week’s elections, Republicans will now hold a majority in the upper chamber with 53 seats when Trump takes office in 2025. This means that Gaetz can only lose three GOP votes to be confirmed by the Senate, assuming Democrats and the two Independents are unanimous in voting against his appointment.

A number of Republicans have spoken out of their shock at his nomination. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she doesn’t think Gaetz is “a serious nomination for the attorney general,” while Senator Susan Collins of Maine told reporters she was “shocked” by the choice.

Ohio Representative Max Miller went as far as to say that Gaetz “has a zero percent shot of getting through the Senate,” Politico reported.  Another Republican representative, who remained anonymous, told the outlet that the choice is “an obvious throwaway nomination that has no chance in the Senate.”

Tommy Tuberville has warned Republicans to vote with what Trump wants
Tommy Tuberville has warned Republicans to vote with what Trump wants (AP)

And North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said Gaetz has “probably got some work cut out for him.”

However, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville has threatened to boot party members from the upper chamber if they oppose Gaetz’s nomination.

“I’ve already seen where a couple says, ‘I’m not voting for him,’” the staunch Trump supporter told Fox Business on Wednesday.

“This is the last chance we’re gonna have of saving this country. And if you wanna get in the way, fine.” He then warned: “But we’re gonna try to get you out of the Senate, too if you try to do that.”

Gaetz faces a grilling during the Senate confirmation process as it typically requires nominees to submit financial disclosures and testify before a committee.

Members from both political parties get a chance to interrogate nominees about their plans for the post and their backgrounds – meaning that the DOJ’s sex trafficking investigation and House ethics probe will likely crop up.

The Senate committee votes on the nominee following the hearing and if it passes, it then goes to the full Senate for a vote.

2. Gaetz is confirmed by Trump through recess appointment

The Senate approval process ensures there is a check and balance on presidential power, as per the US Constitution.

But there is a mechanism in which Trump could bypass tradition to appoint Gaetz as attorney general without a Senate vote.

Trump has already applied pressure on the next Senate Majority leader to allow him to make recess appointments so he can fast-track positions without Senate approval.

Trump said he wants to push through his nominations via recess appointment
Trump said he wants to push through his nominations via recess appointment (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump wrote in a social media post on X on Sunday before John Thune was confirmed as the next majority leader Wednesday, replacing the outgoing Mitch McConnell.

Recess appointments would allow Trump to make administration appointments without a vote in the Senate while the upper chamber is in recess. The process is not unconstitutional, and it has been done before by other administrations.

Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments while in the White House, and Barack Obama made 32. George W. Bush made 171, ABC noted, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Thune, who has been vocal in his criticism of Trump previously, said that the Senate will do “everything we can” to confirm Trump’s desired nominees quickly “so they can implement his agenda.”

“We expect a level of cooperation from the Democrats to work with us to get these folks installed,” Thune said on Wednesday. “We’re [going to] explore all options to make sure they get moved and that they get moved quickly.”

Which of Trump’s picks need Senate confirmation?

Trump hasn’t announced all of his Cabinet nominees yet but all 15 typically require Senate confirmation. Cabinet positions are usually approved quickly in the Senate.

Pete Hegseth - Secretary of Defense

Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth (AP)

The Fox and Friends host could oversee a budget of roughly $850bn and roughly 3 million service members and personnel.

Hegseth has been slammed as “undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for [defense secretary] in American history. And the most overtly political,” Paul Rieckhoff, an Army veteran of the Iraq War and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America said.

He is a former Bear Stearns banker who later served tours with the Army National Guard in Guantánamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as well as led veterans-focused advocacy organizations.

Tulsi Gabbard - Director of National Intelligence

Tulsi Gabbard with Trump on the campaign trail
Tulsi Gabbard with Trump on the campaign trail (AFP via Getty Images)

The former Democratic congresswoman turned MAGA loyalist who has promoted conspiracy theories about US involvement in Ukraine will be the next head of the US intelligence community.

Trump said Gabbard, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army National Guard, “has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans” for “over two decades.”

Kristi Noem - Homeland Security

Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The South Dakota governor has been chosen to head up one of the biggest government agencies that will be integral to Trump’s vow to secure the border and carry out a massive deportation operation.

She was vilified this year for a story she told in her book about killing her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket.

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio (AP)

Rubio has been a prominent Republican member of Congress and made an unsuccessful bid for White House in 2016 against Trump.

Despite losing, he still maintained a strong presence and was reportedly a contendor to be Trump’s running mate this year.

John Ratcliffe - CIA director

John Ratcliffe
John Ratcliffe (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Trump’s former director of national intelligence will be head of the CIA if approved.

Prior to serving in the Trump administration, Ratcliffe was a Republican congressman for Texas, serving on the House intelligence, judiciary, and homeland security committees.

Elise Stefanik - US ambassador to the United Nations

Elise Stefanik
Elise Stefanik (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The representative from New York is one of Trump’s staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment.

Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile.

If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the UN as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine.

Lee Zeldin - Environmental Protection Agency

Lee Zeldin
Lee Zeldin ((AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File))

Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president.

During his time in Congress he frequently voted against environmental-friendly bills.

And who doesn’t need Senate confirmation

There are certain roles that do not require approval from the Senate.

Susie Wiles - White House Chief of Staff

Susie Wiles
Susie Wiles (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Trump’s “Ice Maiden” turned chief of staff was the first person he confirmed to join him in his second term.

Wiles, who also helped Trump win in 2016, was the 2024 Trump campaign’s de facto manager and steered him to victory for a second time.

Stephen Miller - Deputy chief of staff for policy

Stephen Miller
Stephen Miller (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Miller is an immigration hardliner and was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump’s priority of mass deportations.

He was a senior adviser during Trump’s first administration. He has been a central figure in some of Trump’s policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families and he helped craft the Trump administration’s travel ban from majority-Muslim countries.

Tom Homan - Border Czar

Tom Homan
Tom Homan (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history.

Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign.

Mike Waltz - National Security adviser

Mike Waltz
Mike Waltz (Getty Images for Concordia Summi)

Waltz will counsel Trump on various threats to the US. A former Green Beret and policy adviser to Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates, he is known for advocating a tougher position towards Iran and China, a country which he argues is locked in a new Cold War with the US.

In 2023, Waltz introduced a bill calling for more US cooperation with Indo-Pacific nations to counter Chinese and other “malign” influences in the Asia-Pacific region.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy - Department of Government Efficiency

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (AFP via Getty Images)

Department heads have to be confirmed by the Senate, but with the creation of a new DOGE department – which will operate “outside of government” – the process is currently unknown.

Trump vowed that Musk and Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”

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