Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been nominated as our next attorney general. It’s a pick that sent shockwaves through the DC establishment. Republican senators were reportedly stunned, the Left stroked out, and the media was aghast. To be clear, the selection triggered all the right people. Gaetz is expected to resign from the House of Representatives in preparation for what could be the nastiest, most contentious cabinet confirmation fight ever.
Speaker @MikeJohnson confirms, says just now that Rep. Gaetz has resigned from his House seat. https://t.co/jazh1lXw3b
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) November 14, 2024
Gaetz is a reservoir of controversy, but he’s loyal and has been one of Trump’s most vocal supporters on the Hill. But maybe there won’t be a fight, although the path to confirm Gaetz this way is viewed as “bonkers.” Still, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) offered it to the press straight when asked about Gaetz’s ability to be confirmed: he’d be pushed through via recess appointments (via National Review):
NEW: Reporter asks Rep. Thomas Massie about Trump's nomination of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 13, 2024
Reporter: Will he be confirmed by the Senate?
Massie: "Doesn't need to... we recess. He’s the Attorney General. Suck it up."pic.twitter.com/C9djSuw2D6
I’ve been hearing through the grapevine of a crazy plan in which Donald Trump would exercise his authority under Article II, section 3 of the Constitution to adjourn both Houses of Congress so that he could recess-appoint his Cabinet officials. Trump’s stunning announcement that he intends to select Florida congressman Matt Gaetz as his Attorney General lends credence to this rumor, as it is extremely unlikely that the Senate would confirm Gaetz.
[…]
The Constitution provides that “[n]either House [of Congress], during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days.” (Article I, Section 5, clause 4.) Article II, section 3 provides that “in Case of Disagreement between [the Houses], with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, [the president] may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper.”
Step 1: The Speaker of the House (presumably Mike Johnson) seeks to adjourn the House for ten days and requests the Senate’s consent to the House’s adjournment.
Step 2: The Senate refuses to provide its consent to the House’s adjournment.
Step 3: Trump adjourns both the House and the Senate for ten days (or maybe two years). [But couldn’t Senate just agree to House’s adjournment? Maybe that’s why some folks were so interested in having Rick Scott as Senate majority leader.]
Step 4: Trump recess-appoints his Cabinet officers.
Ed Whelan, who isn’t a fan of the Gaetz pick, wrote the post, adding that if Speaker Johnson is aware of this potential ploy, he needs to reject it immediately. The establishment already frames this push as an evisceration of the Senate’s advice and consent function.
I don’t think Trump cares. He just won an election, and, for better or worse, he’s acting like it.
The main issue with Matt Gaetz is that he used his office to prosecute his political opponents and authorized federal agents to harass parents who were peacefully protesting at school board meetings.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) November 14, 2024
Oh wait, that's actually Merrick Garland, the current attorney general.
***
Ethics issues? What ethics issues?
🚨Speaker Mike Johnson just said that Rep. Matt Gaetz already resigned from Congress today, meaning that the House Ethics Committee’s ongoing probe into allegations of child sex trafficking ends as does his tenure, and no report will be issued.
— Farnoush Amiri (@FarnoushAmiri) November 13, 2024
Plan B?
With Gaetz having resigned his seat in the House, if the Senate tries to reject his AG confirmation, DeSantis can always appoint Gaetz to fill Rubio’s Senate seat. Would be interesting to see senators have to choose between Gaetz as AG or as their colleague for years to come.
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) November 14, 2024
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