The withdrawal of the attorney general candidate reveals the resistance of Republican old supporters to Trump’s excesses. usa elections

Donald Trump had issued an order last week. He proposed Matt Gaetz as Attorney General, one of the least suitable people in his circle for that position. His lack of experience and preparation, as well as the scandals he committed, turned the proposal into a kind of resistance test for the system. If Trump was able to carry out this appointment, it would demonstrate that Congress is at his feet and, therefore, no one is willing to put a stop to his excesses. However, resistance from the Republican Old Guard has forced the President-elect to sacrifice his candidacy. Instead, he has chosen Pam Bondi to head the Justice Department, a loyal aide, an election denier, a staunch conservative and devoted to Trumpism, but more presentable. Gaetz’s withdrawal is the first major blow to Trump after his victory in the elections on November 5.

Many of the names the president-elect has thrown out are controversial, but none were as controversial as Gaetz. Appointing him Attorney General was like putting the fox in charge of the chickens. The congressman was investigated by the Justice Department for paying a minor for sexual relations. A committee of the House of Representatives was scheduled to publish a report detailing his sexual scandals, illegal drug use, and alleged misappropriation of funds. Gaetz resigned his seat to prevent the report’s release, but some of its contents were leaked. The details of payment for sex and the victims’ testimony were clear.

The controversial candidate is not very popular even within his own party. It was he who introduced the censure motion due to which his colleague Kevin McCarthy had to lose the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives. Senate majority support was required for his appointment to proceed. Although Republicans held 53 of the 100 senators, it soon became clear that there would be defections. On Wednesday, Gaetz spent most of the day at the Capitol with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who is also a senator. However, neither Vance’s endorsement nor Trump’s call guaranteed success in the vote.

In the Senate Republican caucus, there are some old-guard Republican politicians who have not been attracted to Trumpism. They include Mitch McConnell, the previous parliamentary leader in the upper house, who is not seeking re-election; Lisa Murkowski, who renewed her seat for Alaska in 2022 despite Trump’s opposition, or Senator Susan Collins from Maine, who – like Murkowski – voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment, for his role in the attack on the Capitol. Voted in favor. John Curtis, recently elected to the post vacated by Mitt Romney, won the Republican primary in Utah over the Trump candidate and made it clear that he will not blindly follow the President.

Facing the disapproval of some of his own people, Gaetz had become a liability. The confirmation hearings threatened to become a political circus that would overshadow Trump’s political agenda. The newly elected President preferred to let it fall rather than burn out in a battle he was not sure of winning. He allowed Gaetz to make the announcement himself: he claimed he was withdrawing because his confirmation was becoming “inappropriately” a “distraction.” This Friday, Gaetz assured that he will also give up the deputy’s certificate when the new Congress takes office in January.

Several senators expressed their relief. Even those who were willing to support him preferred not to swallow that frog. Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota said he would not question Trump’s decision to appoint Gaetz, but said the president needs an attorney general whom both he and the Senate “can trust.” “The President has the authority to make nominations as he deems appropriate, but also has the responsibility to advise and consent to the Senate (Famous) advice and consent, which controls confirmation). And in this specific case, I believe advice was offered rather than consent,” he told reporters at the Capitol.

It took only hours for Trump to announce Gaetz’s replacement: Pam Bondi, 59, who was Florida’s attorney general between 2011 and 2019 and who has been a loyal ally of the president-elect for years. Bondi was part of the legal team that defended Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2020 (Impeachment), For his pressure on Ukraine to harm Joe Biden.

He teamed up with Rudy Giuliani to try to challenge and overturn Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election. He publicly defended the rumor that there was electoral fraud in those elections. And he was among the Republicans who paraded in New York to show their support for Trump during the trial Stormy Daniels case.

Bondi also shares the desire for revenge with which Trump returns to power. In an intervention on Fox News in August 2023, he explained: “When the Republicans take back the White House and we’re back in 18 months or less, that’s what’s going to happen. The Justice Department, the prosecutors, the bad guys will be prosecuted. The investigators will be scrutinized because the deep state was hidden in the shadows during President Trump’s previous term, but now, there is a spotlight on them and they can all be investigated. “Needs a clean house because we now know who most of them are.”

Trump is under investigation by special prosecutor Jack Smith for his alleged crimes of stealing the 2020 election and crimes related to keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago mansion after leaving the presidency. He wanted someone of proven integrity, even if he had entered the Justice Department like an elephant in a china shop, to remove Smith (if he did not resign first) and conduct the investigation against him without any consideration. Put it on the back burner. With Bondi, Trump has a loyal ally, but also someone who knows the ins and outs of the prosecutor’s office.

The Gaetz affair shows that the Senate is unwilling to compromise on everything, but paradoxically, it increases the likelihood that Trump will pursue some other controversial appointments. They include anti-vaccine Robert F. Kennedy for Secretary of Health; Fox hosted Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense or Tulsi Gabbard (who has been criticized for her sympathies towards Russia, Syria, Iran and China) as head of the intelligence services. He doesn’t arouse enthusiasm among Republicans, but he also doesn’t arouse as much hostility as Gaetz. His confirmation hearings will serve as a thermometer of how far Trump’s authority extends over the Senate.