President-elect Trump's administration picks got off to a relatively noncontroversial start:
- Susie Wiles, a well-respected GOP operative for White House chief of tstaff.
- Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) should glide through her confirmation for U.N. ambassador.
- Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was an unsurprising pick for secretary of State.
Then, things got a little less conventional: Trump nominated Fox News host Pete Hegseth for secretary of Defense. His choice raised eyebrows and angered the defense world. Five things to know about Pete Hegseth
Trump then said ~hold my beer~: Trump tapped former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) — who eventually switched from Democrat to Independent and then to Republican — to serve as his director of national intelligence and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as his attorney general. You could hear the collective gasp across Washington when the Gaetz news broke.
First, why Gabbard is so controversial for the role: She has never worked in the intelligence world and has been accused of promoting Russian propaganda. In her role, she would be responsible for putting together the President's Daily Brief needed to make important national security decisions. She will likely have a tough time being confirmed.
OK, now Gaetz … : Gaetz is one of the most controversial and criticized members in Congress by both Democrats and Republicans. (If I only could have been in the room with Kevin McCarthy to see his reaction.) He was the subject of a Justice Department sex-trafficking investigation involving a minor. That probe concluded with no charges, and he denies the allegations.
Gaetz immediately resigned from his House seat after Trump announced the AG pick. That's not the norm. Usually, a nominee would keep their seat just in case they cannot get confirmed by the Senate.
But there's another piece to this: Gaetz has been the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe. Punchbowl News first reported that the Ethics Committee was set to meet on Friday to vote on whether to release a "highly damaging" report on its findings. But Gaetz's speedy resignation from Congress grinds that to an immediate halt — it's no longer the committee's jurisdiction. Read more on Gaetz's resignation
💡 The role of attorney general is one of the most important for an administration. A president's attorney general is responsible for implementing the president's agenda and defending it in court.
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