WASHINGTON – Republican senators prepares for strong scrutiny US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Justice Department, Matt Gaetz, is keenly interested in the details of the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into the former congressman from Florida.
An ethics panel has been investigating Gaetz since 2021. the latest focus on sexual exploitation, illegal use of drugs, acceptance of illegal gifts, obstruction and other claims. But the results of that investigation cannot be made public because Gaetz resigned from the House on Thursday afternoon. The Ethics Committee has authority only over the members of the Chamber.
Trump’s selection of Gaetz came as a surprise to almost everyone, including his own members own party and Officials of the Ministry of Justice – in part due to Ethics research, his past legal problems and his reputation as a thug in Congress.
A source familiar with the process told NBC News that Gaetz consulted with Trump about who would be best to lead the Justice Department. Gaetz said he did not want the role, but Trump asked him to start on Wednesday morning, hours before the decision was made public.
Many Republican senators, including members of the GOP-led Judiciary Committee, which will oversee Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, said they would like to see details of Gaetz’s House Ethics investigation.
“I think it would be helpful,” said Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa.
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said he would “absolutely” want to see the results of the House Ethics Committee’s investigation, saying, “I don’t know the technicalities or whether we’ll see it, but I think it would be very relevant.”
The House Ethics Committee was scheduled to meet Friday, three sources familiar with the meeting told NBC News, and one of those sources said the release of the Gaetz report would be among the items on the agenda. Punchbowl News it was reported earlier Wednesday that the ethics panel planned to release a “very damaging” report on Gaetz on Friday, citing multiple sources familiar with the investigation.
But Gaetz’s resignation complicates matters, and the meeting has been canceled, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Although the panel loses jurisdiction over Gaetz when he resigns, there is precedent for ethics reports to be released on or after a lawmaker leaves Congress. happened in the case of former Rep. Bill BoehnerD-Tenn., became mayor of Nashville two months after resigning in 1987 and with ex-Rep Buz LukensR-Ohio, over the day he resigned In 1990.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who sits on the judiciary panel, said he would be prepared to subpoena the House panel to gather evidence if the committee decides not to release the report.
Cornyn, a former member of the Republican leadership, said: “We need to have full vetting of the nominees, not only to make sure the nominee is qualified, but also to protect the president.”
“I’m sure it’s not in his best interest to have any surprises in the House Ethics Committee report,” Cornyn said, referring to Trump.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.C., the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said he doesn’t think the Senate has the authority to subpoena House documents, adding: “Subpoena something here.”
Graham also said that Trump did not consult with him about selecting Gaetz. “Elections have results. He chose Matt Gaetz. Matt will come before the committee and he’ll be asked some tough questions and we’ll see how he does,” Graham said.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who will take over as Chief Justice in January, dodged questions Thursday about whether he would like to see the House ethics report.
“Well, we have a professional staff that will do a full review of the Judiciary, and all of those questions will be answered by the review process report,” Grassley said.
Asked again if he wanted to see it, Grassley said: “I think we have a vetting process. Let him play.”
Cornyn and other Republican senators said they believe they will get all the key evidence from the ethics investigation, even if the report itself never comes to light, thanks to the FBI’s background check and other investigations conducted as part of Gaetz’s Senate confirmation process.
“I am confident that the information and findings of the House Ethics Committee will eventually be released, either through an FBI background investigation or through the committee’s vetting of the nominee or questioning in hearings,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R.-Maine.
Collins does not sit on the Judiciary Committee, but is a moderate Republican whose vote in the full Senate could make or break Gaetz’s nomination.
Under the typical process, after being formally nominated, Gaetz will be discussed by members of both parties on the Senate Judiciary Committee in at least one public hearing. The panel will then vote to send his nomination to the Senate floor, where a simple majority is required for confirmation.
If Republicans win a Senate seat in Pennsylvania, heading for a recalculationGaetz could lose four votes on the Senate floor and still win confirmation. Trump also said he wants the ability to appoint Cabinet members without a confirmation vote while the Senate is in recess.
While many Republican senators on Wednesday expressed confusion over Trump’s choice of Gaetz, given his lack of experience, the Ethics Committee investigation, his successful coup against then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the state of California and the Department of Justice, A sex-trafficking investigation into the congressman ended last year without chargesno one rejected him outright.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, went the furthest, saying Gaetz was “not a serious candidate for attorney general” and that his confirmation would be a “significant challenge.” “He’s got his work cut out for him,” Ernst said of Gaetz on Wednesday.
Within 18 hours of Trump’s announcement that he would lead the Justice Department, Gaetz began hitting the phones and making calls to some Republican senators to get a reading on his chances of being confirmed next year. a publicity source told NBC News.
Separately, Vice President-elect JD Vance and his team are making their own calls to Senate Republicans about Gaetz, according to two additional sources familiar with the calls to NBC News.
Gaetz will have to answer questions during Senate hearings about past scandals and his suitability for the role, senators said.
“I have concerns that he will not cross the finish line,” said Sen. Kevin Kramer, RN.D. “and we’re going to spend a lot of political capital — I mean we, a lot of people are going to spend a lot of political capital — on something that even if they can do it, you’re going to have to wonder if it’s worth it. .”
Cramer said he was “concerned” about Gaetz, particularly how he “disrupted and really destroyed the House in a matter of months” with his successful push to oust McCarthy, while Cramer “has done nothing but get rid of him and, you know, they destroyed the reputation of the House so much that they didn’t, they didn’t catch this last wave. [election.]”
Asked directly if he would vote to confirm Gaetz, Cramer said the Florida congressman would have to go through the Judiciary Committee first. “I never say what I would never do because I want to hear the case … I would be open to it,” Kramer said. “But he has a really steep hill to climb to get a lot of votes, including mine.”
Asked if any Republicans in the Senate could cross Trump and vote against his Cabinet nominees, outgoing Sen. Mike Brown, R-Ind., said, “A few of them, I won’t say which. You still have to go through this process. And if there’s stuff in your record that doesn’t make sense, you’re probably not going to make it through the process.”