How DOJ Staffers Reacted to Matt Gaetz's Nomination as Attorney General

Matt Vespa | November 16, 2024 6:05 AM

The political class hates it. The media hates it. The GOP establishment hates it. You don’t need to sell me on Matt Gaetz as attorney general; I’m already for it. I couldn’t care less about the man being a reservoir of controversy. He’s been selected to show Washington that Trump is back and serious about cleaning house of the gangster tactics that have crept into the Department of Justice. They will go back to enforcing the law, not being the Democrats’ political police force.

There’s been a lot of hubbub over whether Gaetz has the votes. It doesn’t matter right now: Trump won the election and has the right to nominate whoever he sees fit. If it works out, it works out. If not, we’ll revisit that juncture later, but for now—let the man go through the vetting process. At the Justice Department, the reaction alone within the halls is good enough reason for me, as there were reports of staffers being petrified over the prospect of Attorney General Matt Gaetz (via Politico):

Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general has Justice Department veterans petrified and warning of a crisis in the department marked by chaos and revenge.
The polarizing Republican lawmaker is already generating resistance on Capitol Hill, suggesting he may not get the votes to win the job. But even if the nomination is doomed, it sends an unmistakable signal about Trump’s expectations for the Justice Department in his second term: He wants a MAGA zealot in the post, one who has shown unbreakable loyalty to the president-elect and wrath for his adversaries, real and perceived.
[…]
Many rank-and-file Justice Department staffers — who were already dreading what Trump might do at DOJ — were flabbergasted by the Gaetz announcement. “This is completely wild. It’s so out of bounds, it’s just shocking,” said one career DOJ lawyer, who was granted anonymity out of concerns about retaliation. “He’s there for one purpose: to enact retribution. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have a grand vision about the future of the department. I can’t imagine how this isn’t going to scare people even more.”