Trump’s selection of Matt Gaetz as his next attorney general sent shockwaves through the political world, prompting fierce reactions on both sides of the aisle.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I have no love for Gaetz. He seems to thrive on controversy, and despite being a loyal MAGA Republican, he has been a bigger problem for his own party at times, like when he caused an unnecessary intra-party battle by triggering the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
To be honest, Trump’s selection of Gaetz came out of the blue, and many are wondering why he made it.
According to a report from Politico, there are some theories about why Gaetz was chosen.
“Pretty much every Hill Republican we spoke with thinks there’s something strange going on here,” the outlet reports. “One theory we heard over and over from bewildered Republicans is that perhaps by picking him, Trump is giving Gaetz an out from the Ethics report (which seems possible), and that Gaetz is returning the favor by becoming a sacrificial lamb who will ease the way for Trump’s eventual pick for AG (which seems like a stretch).”
Politico also points to another theory suggesting that Gaetz “is resigning only from this Congress — so as to stymie the Ethics probe for now — with an intent to be seated for the next Congress come January.”
This theory falls apart quickly, and even Politico can’t reconcile it.
“We find that very hard to believe, both because it doesn’t sound like it would realistically slow the Ethics report’s release,” the outlet notes, “and because House Speaker Mike Johnson has already spoken to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about holding a special election right away—which there would be no need for if Gaetz were planning to be seated in January.”
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The first theory seems to make the most sense, as a number of Republicans have hinted that they aren’t likely to support Gaetz—and this opposition wasn't exactly secret when Gaetz resigned from Congress. That he was looking for a way out of Congress on his own terms may very well be the case—even if he fails to be confirmed.
Another theory is that this is merely a loyalty test.
One of the sharpest initial reactions we saw came from NYT columnist Ezra Klein. “Demanding Senate Republicans back Gaetz as attorney general and [Pete] Hegseth as Defense Secretary is the 2024 version of forcing Sean Spicer to say it was the largest inauguration crowd ever,” Klein wrote on X. “These aren’t just appointments. They’re loyalty tests.”
In that way, it’s a test for every Republican in the Senate to see how they respond to Trump’s wishes. It’s also a test for incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who won election yesterday — becoming the conference’s first new leader in a generation, as McConnell steps aside — only to have that news dwarfed by the Gaetz story.
Think of it as Senate Republicans’ version of the Kobayashi Maru — the famous exam in “Star Trek” that presents trainees with a no-win situation. It isn’t meant to be passed; it’s intended to reveal something about the people who take it.
What exactly it reveals about Senate Republicans, we’re about to find out.
I guess we are.
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