As all the cannabis coverage is fawning somewhat let’s hear what Politico has to say and if they are correct all that cannabis excitement will quickly disapate
I think he has a zero percent shot of getting through the Senate,” Miller added.
“Obviously, the president has the right to nominate whomever he wishes, but I’m certain there will be a lot of questions,” Collins said.
Republicans, who will hold a 53-seat majority in the Senate, can only lose three votes and still clear nominees if Democrats unanimously oppose them. Incoming Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) brushed off questions about Gaetz specifically, instead outlining what he’d like to see in an attorney general.
“All I’m interested in [for] who’s the next attorney general: Is he going to fight crime, enforce the law, and will he answer the forty letters that this Justice Department has not answered on my investigations?” Grassley said, ignoring questions on Gaetz’s involvement in a sex trafficking probe.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), a member of leadership, replied to questions by saying: “We’ve got weeks to go until we get to those hearings.”
Gaetz has frequently targeted the Department of Justice and the FBI, accusing them of leading targeted, politically motivated investigations. He’s previously called for abolishing the FBI, which falls under the Justice Department’s jurisdiction. Those views largely align with Trump, who has also been the subject of DOJ investigations. The Department of Justice closed the investigation into Gaetz last year with no criminal charges, and Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing. However, there is still a pending Ethics Committee investigation against him over the same claims.
But the lack of confidence from GOP senators is telling. They’ve wanted to give Trump wide authority to pick his selected Cabinet and have largely praised other picks the president-elect has made.
One House Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, had a theory of the case: “Sometimes a president appoints to reward a person. All the while, knowing that it will not go through. When it does not go through, they can appoint the back-up and they have cover for doing so.”
Other House Republicans had concerns about the pick too, especially after watching Gaetz lead the ouster effort against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy that threw their chamber into chaos last year. Centrist Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said he had “no good comment.”
Rep. Michael Guest, chair of the House Ethics Committee and a former prosecutor, said he was “surprised” by the Gaetz news, but he added that he has “faith” in the choices Trump makes in filling out his Cabinet. The Mississippi Republican added that any concerns about Gaetz, who is being investigated by the Ethics Committee, would be addressed by a Senate confirmation hearing. The investigation would cease if Gaetz left the House
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