The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Wednesday the appointment of Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, an ally, friend, and figure of the Maga movement, to be the next Attorney General, arguably the most important position in his cabinet for the next four years. Gaetz's case is perhaps the first of a candidate to lead a department, the Department of Justice, which until recently was under investigation for engaging in sexual relations with minors and paying for their travel expenses.
Trump has already surprised by choosing a presenter from his favorite network as Secretary of Defense, a Jewish real estate businessman as envoy to the Middle East, or congressmen with no experience and even sympathies towards Putin for national security. But it is practically impossible to conceive a more controversial, polemic, provocative, divisive, and less appropriate character according to the rules for such a relevant public position. In all of US history, no one with that CV, with the amount of accumulated scandals, statements beyond the limits, and clashes with their own colleagues would have had the slightest chance. Neither of being chosen nor ratified by the Senate. But today's United States has nothing to do with the past, and anything is possible.
The choice is so radical that some in Washington wonder if it might be a move by Trump's team. A nod to his supporters if he succeeds, an acceptable sacrifice if the Senate does not accept his nomination. Also a way to divert attention from the rest of the positions and focus it on the one who has the most capacity to absorb hatred and turn it into fuel. For the new majority leader, chosen today by his peers, it will be a huge challenge. But if he falls, surely the rest will pass without difficulties.
Gaetz, 42, is the most radical and emblematic figure of the Maga universe. Quick-witted, outspoken, charismatic, fun, uncontrollable, shameless. With an enormous ability to communicate, a source of inspiration for conservative podcasters and influencers. A lawyer who defines himself as a "libertarian populist" and who was the subject of a federal investigation for human trafficking that was closed in 2023 when the Department of Justice did not press charges. However, since 2021, he has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged inappropriate sexual behavior, alleged use of illicit drugs, allegedly sharing inappropriate videos in the House of Representatives, allegedly inappropriately using campaign funds, and allegedly accepting gifts not allowed by house rules. Many allegations for someone whom Trump, himself with several legal issues he wants to close immediately, aspires to put in charge of the Justice system to end what he calls the "weaponization" of it.
In the Maga universe, he is a hero, a superstar. In Wisconsin, last July, during the Republican National Convention, he almost came to blows with his colleague Kevin McCarthy after interrupting a live connection by insulting him. He has countless enemies within institutions, but few arouse more passion, sign more autographs, or take more selfies with the most radical voters.
An intelligent man, a magnificent speaker and polemicist, manipulative, difficult to control, lazy as a legislator, inspired as an agitator. He is almost undoubtedly the most unpopular, detested, and controversial member of Congress, with the possible exception of Marjorie Taylor Greene, the queen of conspiracies. And he loves that role, which he has managed to capitalize on and monetize. For him, there are no limits, collateral damage. Anything is valid to promote himself and defend Trump, not always in that order. And the leader wants people around him who are completely loyal, willing to follow instructions no matter how difficult or illegal they may be, as his former Vice President Mike Pence knows. When Trump was in the dock, he was a few rows back.
The congressman represents better than anyone that wing of the party, of society, that does not believe in the Government unless it is part of it. Aspires to be establishment but constantly attacks it. A cynical nihilism taken to the extreme, which sees the rule of law as a huge problem if it interferes with their political goals. "All political lives end in failure, in a sense, but some are spectacular. It is better to be a spectacle than to end without ever having said anything worth canceling because, to begin with, no one was listening," he has written in a 'memoirs' book.
"Matt is a tenacious and deeply talented lawyer who has distinguished himself in Congress for his focused effort to achieve the reform that the Department of Justice desperately needs. Few issues in the United States are more important than ending the partisan use as a weapon of our justice system. Matt will end the 'armed government,' protect our borders, dismantle criminal organizations, and restore the faith and trust of Americans in the Department of Justice, severely shattered," said the billionaire in the statement announcing his choice. The fourth position of someone from Florida, by the way, the state where he resides.
As Attorney General, Gaetz's first goal would be to immediately close the investigations by special prosecutor Jack Smith on the President-elect. And then, defend in court the most controversial policies of Trump, starting with immigration, which was already a problem in 2017.
Politically, Gaetz aligns with the far-right, of the Republican Party and the country. In 2020, he tried to get Trump, before leaving, to grant him a full pardon because he was already being investigated for traveling with a minor across several states. And for maneuvering to try to overturn the election results. He was at the Capitol on January 6, and some of those who stormed it were old acquaintances.
The congressman "was friends with members of the Proud Boys, the far-right group that sent numerous people to Washington that day. He was in contact with Roger Stone, who had helped coordinate the movement to resist Trump's loss, and with Jacob Engels, a conservative journalist whom an observer described as Stone's "surrogate son," according to a profile published last year by The New Yorker.
The US has traditionally been a very hypocritical and purist country for public office. Decades of tradition fed the myth that an article written in the high school newspaper could end the career of a judge aspirant. Or Attorney General. Gaetz has been arrested a dozen times throughout his life for speeding or driving under the influence. He pushed a bill to expedite the execution of death row inmates and another to allow carrying weapons in public, even in churches and schools. In 2013, during a debate on healthcare for the poor, Gaetz said he did not see it logical to help single, childless adults because they were "too busy playing Grand Theft Auto to get a job."
He enthusiastically defended and offered an internship to the 17-year-old who killed two people and injured another during riots in 2020. He believes that millionaires like George Soros finance the caravans of immigrants trying to reach the US. He believes in the great replacement theory, a racist argument about a supposed plan to replace the white population of the planet. He was accused of showing photos of women with whom he had sexual relations in the halls of Congress. Two years ago, he almost came to blows with his colleague, Republican congressman from Alabama, Mike Rogers, after a vote in which Gaetz's abstention cost them the defeat. And it was discovered that he irregularly used public funds to hire speechwriting companies or to build a television studio in his parents' house. "I think if you want to be a populist, it's important to be popular," he said in the past. A motto suitable for the ratification process.