Gaetz Gives Up
Matt Gaetz announced today that he has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the next attorney general of the United States. It seemed his nomination had a minor problem.
Sorry, but it's almost impossible not to treat the whole sordid story as a joke. Gaetz was a completely laughable candidate from the start, so it's hard not to have a few final laughs as he exits. After all, the nomination of Gaetz didn't even last a full Scaramucci!
Kidding aside, I do have to wonder whether this was the plan all along. From the start, there was speculation that this was all very conveniently timed to allow Gaetz to escape what is reportedly a very damning report from the House Ethics Committee being made public. If Gaetz hadn't been nominated, this report likely would have been released last Friday. Gaetz reportedly has plans to run for Florida governor in 2026, and it would be easier for him to do so if the report stays buried.
Immediately after he was nominated, Gaetz resigned his House seat. This is unusual -- most politicians would have held onto a House seat until they were fully confirmed by the Senate. But after Gaetz resigned, he was no longer a sitting House member -- and thus the Ethics Committee had no jurisdiction over him any more. So they would have no need to release the conclusions of their investigation into Gaetz. The timing of it all seemed more than a little fishy, in other words.
Donald Trump reportedly was talked into nominating Gaetz during a plane ride the two took together last week. It is entirely plausible that Gaetz laid the whole plan out to Trump and got Trump to go along with it. "Nominate me, I'll resign from the House, the report will be buried, then I will withdraw my name and you can nominate the person you really want in there -- and I'll go replace Ron DeSantis!" That's the sort of thing Trump might find amusing, you've got to admit.
Gaetz raised his profile in the MAGA universe with the nomination, but he drew all kinds of scrutiny in the process. He may not care -- these days absolutely nothing seems to be an automatic disqualification for any ambitious Republican politician. And he certainly was the center of attention for a whole week.
So what happens now? It's unclear, at this point. Gaetz has a number of paths he could choose to take right now. The first would be unprecedented, and it's unclear whether it'd even be legal or not: Gaetz could decide to just go back to the House. He did resign his seat, but he also was re-elected to that seat in the recent election. In his resignation letter he stated: "I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress," but he could always try to take that back. Whether he could get away with such an audacious move would be up to his fellow Republicans, both in his home state and in the House. Would they allow him to retake his seat or would they push back on the idea? At this point, that is unknown -- but he could always try.
There's a second possibility some have suggested, but it wouldn't entirely be up to Gaetz. Marco Rubio is going to become secretary of State, which will leave a Senate vacancy for the Florida governor to fill -- so Gaetz could try to talk DeSantis into naming him to Rubio's seat. There's already some jockeying going on by some Florida Republicans for the seat, but the decision is entirely up to DeSantis. I consider this one to be a longshot, though, since I think it's pretty farfetched to think DeSantis would do so -- even if Trump pressured him to.
The third possibility is the one people suspected from the start -- Gaetz goes back to Florida and immediately begins his 2026 gubernatorial campaign. He's certainly checked off the "name recognition" box already, right? And DeSantis is term-limited, so he can't run again. Whether Florida voters would elect him is an open question, but Gaetz certainly could try to convince them.
The fourth option is that Gaetz retires from being a politician and perhaps takes some cushy rightwing media job (or just retires quietly to Florida). Gaetz could just fade away from the political scene, or comment on it from the sidelines.
Now that Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration for the nation's top legal official, it is doubtful the public will ever see that Ethics Committee report. If his nomination had gone forward, some Senate Republicans likely would have either demanded to see it or just called all the witnesses in to testify in his confirmation hearing. At least four GOP senators were already saying they were going to vote against Gaetz, so it was really just a question of whether or not they aired his dirty laundry in public before ultimately turning him down.
Gaetz was doomed to fail, that much seems certain. What he does next is anyone's guess, but the only other thing that seems certain right now is that the title of "Sleaziest House Sleazebag" will now be open. This dishonor was bestowed on Gaetz after Madison Cawthorn (remember him?) lost his bid for re-election, but now it will be wide open once again. There is no shortage of candidates for the title among the Republican ranks, so it will be interesting to see who emerges as the most embarrassing sleazebag moving forward.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
You write as if the House committee's report is now buried for the ages, but I wonder.
All this past week there was speculation among the commentariat that someone would sooner or later leak it, no matter how illegal that might be, in order to torpedo his Attorney General nomination.
And just because he's no longer the nominee, he still may be looking at another political position, or a media one -- as you write. He's still a hateful politician who ought to be run out of town.
So I will be surprised if that infamous report doesn't materialize in some readable and reputable form in the next few weeks, in an effort to truly put a spike in the ghoul's heart.
did George sent us award for self-service?
Good God, I really have to stop using voice to text.
George Santos award for self service
Besides owning the Libs I think Gaetz was a trial balloon throwaway nomination designed so that some incompetent nominees like Hegseth and MacMahon don’t catch as much scrutiny aka Senate Republican opposition.
If Gaetz hadn't been nominated, this report likely would have been released last Friday.
Exactly. Isn't it very telling that Gaetz first sought a pardon from Trump when he was being investigated by Trump's DOJ, and now he's resigned and wants this report hidden from everyone? Rhetorical question. Because if that House Ethics Committee's report of the investigation of into Gaetz had actually exonerated him of the allegations that he sexually trafficked a 17-year-old minor, you just know that he'd have it laminated and plastered to that ginormous billboard-like butt head of his.
Hehehe... "butt head."
Which begs the question: Is it just me or did anyone else ever notice that Matt Gaetz has an uncanny resemblance to the cartoon character Butt-Head?
there's been quite a bit of rumor floating around that despite his protestations to the contrary, the gaetz nomination was absolutely a distraction, and was always intended as such. after gaetz, is anyone even raising the slightest concern about Pam Bondi? well-played, Donald.
it's been donald's playbook for twelve years after all - propose something SO insane that it garners lots of press, and then by comparison his next insane suggestion seems downright reasonable and low-key.
JL,
there's a real issue within the fake issue, and that's what makes it hard to parse.
Your words of wisdom would be a LOT easier to understand if you provided some context..
I'm just saying. :D
Especially given all the off topic verbal diarrhea from the 2-Cell Brain Weigantian Trolls. :D
there's been quite a bit of rumor floating around that despite his protestations to the contrary, the gaetz nomination was absolutely a distraction, and was always intended as such. after gaetz, is anyone even raising the slightest concern about Pam Bondi? well-played, Donald.
As I said.. President ELECT Trump plays 12-D chess while Demon'rats are playing tiddley winks.. :D
President ELECT Trump's choice for AG puts Demon'rats' claim of Trump being a misogynist in the sewer where it belongs..
Funny how this "misogynist" keeps showing Demon'rats exactly how to place women in powerful positions..
Seems Demon'rats would NEVER think to put as woman as a Presidential Chief Of Staff or as US AG...
Demon'rats are such misogynists... :D
Well, damn.. Was looking forward to that Not Science Trans commentary today.. Guess I must have scared CW off about the subject.. :D
I see Retarded Russ was flailing around trying to come up with an argument for the facts that he totally disregarded..
There are a TON of factual reports about girls getting injured by men cosplaying as women in girls sports.. Of course Retard Russ ignores the facts because they totally decimated his hysterical Demon'rat argument..
Men cannot be women simply by saying "I am a woman." Men cannot be women by surgery or drugs.. It's simply NOT within the realm of modern science..
Women cannot be men simply by saying "I am a man." Women cannot be men by surgery or drugs.. It's simply NOT within the realm of modern science..
These are the facts that no amount of Demon'rat "science" or Demon'rat hysteria will change..
"These are the facts of the case. And they are undisputed."
-Captain Smilin' Jack Ross, A FEW GOOD MEN
Looks like Demon'rats are STILL getting all their panties in a twist. :D
“Harris spent far more than Trump, with way less bang for the buck. Despite her significant financial advantage, Ms. Harris became the first Democratic presidential candidate to lose the national popular vote in two decades, ceding every battleground state to Mr. Trump. Her cash-rich campaign spared no expense as it hunted for voters — paying for an avalanche of advertising, social-media influencers, a for-hire door-knocking operation, thousands of staff, pricey rallies, a splashy Oprah town hall, celebrity concerts and even drone shows. The money burn made Democrats wonder whether investing in celebrity-fueled events with stars such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce was more ostentation than effective.”
-NY GRIME
Token DEI Hire Headboard Has Been Hooker Harris went thru 1.5 BILLION DOLLARS in just a 15-week campaign!!!
And not only LOST in EVERY Swing State, but also lost the POPULAR VOTE!!!
BBBBWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
And YOU people thought she could actually WIN!??? THAT'S hilarious!!! :D
And of course, there was the Headboard Has Been Hooker/Liz Cheney mash-up that was a total joke!!! :D
“Unfortunately, while many Democratic tacticians were enthusiastic about Cheney’s jumping on board as a Harris backer, Republican voters couldn’t have cared less. The Cheney strategy was an abject failure that added few if any votes to the Democratic total, alienated voters who have no taste for the former GOP representative’s neocon extremism, and stole precious time from an agonizingly short campaign schedule.”
-John Nichols, THE NATION
Headboard Has Been Hooker Harris' campaign was a JOKE from start to finish.. NO ONE with more than 2 brain cells to rub together actually thought Harris would win!!
And the BIGGEST casualty of the UBER NUCLEAR SHELLACKING OF DEMOCRATS 2024 EDITION??
MSNBC
Comcast just announced that they are divorcing MSNBC from NBC and casting MSNBC into the wilderness...
Weigantia authorities are seriously bummed about this because MSNBC provided about 75% of source "facts"... :D
A world without MSNBC... Next to President ELECT Trump, this is the BEST thing to come out of the UBER NUCLEAR SHELLACKING OF DEMOCRATS 2024 EDITION.. :D
END OF WATCH
Corporal Luis Paez
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Florida
End of Watch: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Deputy Sheriff Ralph Waller
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Florida
End of Watch: Thursday, November 21, 2024
And remind the few..
When ill of us they speak...
That we are all that stands between...
The monsters and the weak...
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