Republicans Aren’t Exactly Going Out Of Their Way To Defend Gaetz

The House Ethics Committee was going to vote on whether to release a report on its three-year-long investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Friday, Punchbowl News was first to report — just days after Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he was nominating Gaetz as his attorney general. The Florida congressman, who was investigated but not charged as part of Justice Department probe into sex trafficking, quickly “accepted” the nomination in a post on Twitter and resigned from Congress.

It’s unclear if Gaetz knew about the impending ethics panel vote or whether that factored into Trump’s rationale for abruptly announcing the shocking appointment Wednesday afternoon. But given Gaetz years-long animosity towards the committee and efforts to skirt questioning as part of its inquiry, it’s hard to see the timing as anything other than extremely convenient.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has all but confirmed that the House Ethics Committee’s investigation, and his disinterest in putting an end to their inquiry as speaker, played a role in the abrupt demise of his political career. McCarthy has said publicly and privately that he believes Gaetz filed the motion to vacate the speakership as part of a personal vendetta against McCarthy for not doing enough to shut down the panel’s probe. The committee was looking into sexual misconduct allegations alongside a slew of other accusations against Gaetz including misuse of campaign funds, accepting unlawful gifts and allegations that he showed colleagues inappropriate images and videos on his phone on the House floor.

Democrats in the Senate are demanding access to the report in the wake of Gaetz’s resignation and nomination to lead DOJ — it is, now, outside of the panel’s jurisdiction to investigate the congressman. The committee has not yet weighed in on whether it intends to release its findings. It’s also still unclear if new Republican leadership will acquiesce to Trump’s demands for recess appointments or stick with the typical confirmation process, which would allow senators the opportunity to hold hearings and vet the congressman for the position.

But one thing is clear — Republicans aren’t exactly sticking their necks out to shield the guy who has few friends in Congress, let alone his own party. The main updates from today:

Senate Judiciary Dems, led by Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL), sent a letter to the House Ethics Committee Thursday afternoon, urging the panel to “immediately preserve and transmit to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary all relevant documentation on Mr. Gaetz, including the report that your Committee was reportedly prepared to vote to release tomorrow.” They argued that “the sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report and findings.”
Republicans on the same Senate panel did not join their Democratic counterparts in urging the committee to preserve documents, according to CNN’s Manu Raju. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) reportedly told CNN that the decision remains in House’s hands.
“I think there should not be any limitations on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation, including whatever the House Ethics Committee has generated,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told reporters this afternoon, before alluding to the fact that he wants to go through the normal confirmation process rather than bend to Trump’s recess appointments push: “I don’t think we should be circumventing the Senate’s responsibilities,” Cornyn told CNN. “But I think it’s premature to be talking about recess appointments right now.”
Newly-selected, will-be Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) offered similar remarks in response to questions about Gaetz’s confirmation prospects: “Don’t know until we start the process, and that’s what we intend to do with him and all the other potential nominees.”
McCarthy weighed in on his nemesis’ situation in comments to Bloomberg Thursday: “I think the choices are very good, except one. Gaetz won’t get confirmed, everybody knows that,” he said.
All of this might not matter! The Wall Street Journal is reporting this afternoon that enough Senate Republicans are opposed to Gaetz’s nomination to sink it: “People familiar with discussions among Senate Republicans said that far more than three of them are prepared to vote no if the matter comes to a vote, and some said there was already talk of trying to convince Trump to pull the nominee, or for Gaetz to voluntarily withdraw his name,” in WSJ’s words.