How detrimental will President-elect Donald Trump’s second term be to the rule of law? We got the answer with Wednesday’s announcement of his intent to nominate Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general: worse even than the worst-case scenario we had imagined.

This isn’t just hyperbole from a harsh Trump critic. It’s a sober assessment, albeit a distressed one. In both his character and capacity to carry out justice, Gaetz is the opposite of an appropriate candidate to lead the Department of Justice. He is the anti-attorney general.

The announcement shocked even members of Congress whose lockstep loyalty to the president-elect is otherwise unquestioned. The New York Times reported that Senate Republicans’ immediate reaction was “alarm and dismay” and that many avoided expressing support. The most independent senators were incredulous: Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said, “I don’t think he’s a serious candidate.”

As a Justice alumnus, I’m confident that department veterans of both parties see Gaetz’s selection as perfectly awful. How so? Let me count the ways.

First, he has little apparent legal ability. He has no prosecutorial experience, and his only legal experience was a brief stint in private practice. More than 400 of his classmates at William & Mary Law School signed a petition declaring him “unfit to write or determine the law.” He would be the least legally qualified attorney general in more than a century, if not U.S. history.

Second, he is a flagrant partisan who has demonstrated beyond dispute that he would put Trump’s interests over any fair application of the law. A strident, even hysterical defender of Trump throughout his scandals, Gaetz asserted that the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection — the basis for the largest prosecution in the history of the Justice Department — was the work of far-left agitators masquerading as Trump supporters. He staunchly opposed both Trump impeachments while co-sponsoring impeachment resolutions against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and President Biden.

He would perfectly fulfill Trump’s oft-expressed desire for an attorney general who acts as his personal lawyer, fighting off any challenges to his power or misconduct in the style of Roy Cohn, who served as Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel and became a mentor to Trump.

Trump’s first attorney general, the conservative former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, outraged him with his fidelity to the rule of law at key junctures. Like John Ashcroft, who was attorney general under George W. Bush, Sessions was a former partisan who took his institutional role and oath of office seriously once he became attorney general. Gaetz’s selection leaves no doubt about Trump’s resolve to avoid any such measure of integrity, much less an attorney general in the distinguished nonpartisan tradition of Edward Levi, Robert Jackson or Merrick Garland.

Third, Gaetz holds the neutral application of law and other proud traditions of the Justice Department in contempt. He has dismissed federal investigations of Trump as “witch hunts,” savaged the work of FBI Director Chris Wray (whom he would supervise) and characterized federal agents as “cockroaches.” And he is preoccupied with partisan matters that have little to do with the overwhelming bulk of the department’s vast nationwide law enforcement portfolio.

Fourth, it stands to reason that Gaetz bears the Justice Department personal rancor given his record. He was a subject of a federal investigation of allegations of sex trafficking of minors and illegal drug use. He even sought a pardon at the end of Trump’s first term. While his longtime associate Joel Greenberg was sentenced to 11 years in prison, Gaetz ultimately dodged an indictment because of doubts about the credibility of witnesses at the center of the allegations.

The same charges became the subject of an inquiry by the House Ethics Committee, which was reportedly set to release a scathing report on Gaetz Friday. Gaetz refused to cooperate with the investigation and abruptly resigned from Congress after the announcement of his nomination, ending the committee’s jurisdiction over him — though not the possibility that the report could still become public.

While Gaetz escaped formal charges or sanction, his conduct is widely reported and not in serious doubt. And it falls far short of the probity expected of the nation’s highest law enforcement officer.

Fifth, Gaetz’s personal conduct renders him unfit for the position. He is widely considered among the least popular members of Congress. He has left a long trail of repugnant statements about women and minorities. These include calling pro-choice protesters fat and ugly, defending the racist and antisemitic “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, and associating with Holocaust deniers.

For all these reasons, Gaetz’s confirmation is in doubt even with a Republican-controlled Senate. Hence Trump’s cynical strategy to slip him into position through a recess appointment, which would insulate him from a full background investigation and an excoriating examination by Democrats. Many Senate Republicans might actually prefer it to having Gaetz’s disqualifying features and overall ugliness aired in public.

If Gaetz becomes the 87th attorney general by any means, the consequences will be immediate and severe, starting with a mass exodus of horrified career employees. Far worse will be the long-lasting erosion of the integrity of the department, whose fidelity to the principle of justice without fear or favor is a cornerstone of American democracy. Gaetz himself may be a joke, but his impact would not be.

Harry Litman is the host of the “Talking Feds” podcast and the “Talking San Diego” speaker series. @harrylitman

President-elect Donald Trump named his personal criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general.

“I am pleased to announce that Todd Blanche will serve as Deputy Attorney General in my Administration. Todd is an excellent attorney who will be a crucial leader in the Justice Department, fixing what has been a broken System of Justice for far too long,” Trump announced in a news release Thursday evening.

“Todd is going to do a great job as we, Make America Great Again,” he wrote.

Blanche represented Trump during his Manhattan criminal case earlier this year, becoming a focal point of Trump’s daily press conferences, as he stood behind the 45th president while he railed against the case to the media.  

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Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records following his Manhattan criminal trial in May. Trump pleaded not guilty in the case, repeatedly calling it a “sham” and “scam” and “witch hunt” launched by Democrats to injure his re-election chances ahead of Nov. 5. 

The Manhattan judge overseeing the case, Juan Merchan, agreed to grant a stay on all deadlines associated with the felony conviction proceedings against Trump earlier this week. The decision follows the Supreme Court ruled in July that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office, but not for unofficial acts.

Amid Trump’s lengthy court trial, which stretched from mid-April until the end of May, Blanche defended Trump both in the courtroom and to the public during press conferences. 

“President Trump is innocent. President Trump did not commit any crimes. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office should never have brought this case,” Blanche said in his opening remarks during the trial. 

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Attorney Todd Blanche listens as his client former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he arrives for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Deputy attorney general is the second-most powerful position in the Department of Justice, and entails overseeing the department’s day-to-day dealings. Trump announced Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as his attorney general pick, which sent shockwaves among Democrats and some Republicans in Washington, D.C.

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“Gaetz has been Trump’s chief defender when it comes to Trump’s assault on democracy. His attempt to overthrow the government on January 6th. And he has openly called for the abolition of law enforcement agencies if they don’t get in line with conservative political priorities,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said of the choice. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., waves on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Gaetz said it would be an “honor” to serve in the Trump administration earlier this week, and celebrated Trump’s pick of Blanche as deputy on Thursday. 

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“We are building an incredible team at the Department of Justice in the Trump/Vance Administration! Todd Blanche and Emil Bove are brilliant litigators and top-tier legal minds. We can’t wait to get to work for the American People,” Gaetz posted to X. 

Last week, following Trump’s massive win over Vice President Kamala Harris, reports spread that the FBI reportedly notified Blanche that Chinese hackers breached his phone and procured voice recordings and texts, Fox News Digital previously reported. Chinese hackers had reportedly targeted Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and individuals connected to Harris’ campaign.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

WASHINGTON  —  Since he began taking over the Republican Party nearly a decade ago, President-elect Donald Trump has demanded increasing levels of loyalty from lawmakers who serve in Congress.

With few exceptions, they have gone along, refusing to convict him in two impeachment trials and, even after he was convicted of 34 felonies, helping him win a second term in the White House as he plowed through a Republican primary and general election after falsely denying his 2020 loss.

Now, members of the Senate will face another test: Whether to cede their long-held independent authority under the Constitution to review an increasingly controversial group of Cabinet picks.

Many senators in both parties have already expressed concerns about some of Trump’s selections, but Trump has said he expects the body to test a controversial tactic that would let him bypass the confirmation process.

In the last several days, Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth, a Fox television host and veteran who has never held a leadership post, as his secretary of Defense; Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic House member accused of spreading Kremlin talking points, as his director of National Intelligence; and Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican who resigned his seat in the House on Wednesday while facing a congressional investigation into sex trafficking, as his attorney general.

Then on Thursday, Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vociferous vaccine skeptic who has promoted false conspiracy theories concerning healthcare, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Trump is known for defying tradition and going against the grain, but the recent appointments suggest a larger agenda, some political observers say.

“There is a difference between having a broader ideological mix and choosing a [accused] sex trafficker for attorney general of the United States,” said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s legislative affairs director during his first term and as chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence.

“I think he’s trying to disrupt,” Short said of Trump. But “I’m not convinced that it’s clearly thought through.”

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Bakersfield Republican whose career in Congress was upended when Gaetz led a rebellion against him, predicted that at least the Gaetz nomination would fail, telling Bloomberg Television on Thursday that he “won’t get confirmed, everybody knows that.”

McCarthy called the nomination “a good deflection,” hinting at a popular Washington theory that Gaetz, even if defeated, could help Trump win approval of other controversial nominees by using up whatever willpower Republican senators have to take on the new president next year.

At the center of it all is Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican who won an internal vote to become Senate majority leader on Wednesday. He replaces Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who occasionally clashed with Trump during his first term but prevented an all-out intraparty war by largely acquiescing to the president. The Senate under Thune will be even more Trump-friendly, with more members who come into office with Trump’s support, while some of the more skeptical Republicans are no longer in office.

Trump had mixed results with his first-term nominations, even as he chose from an inexperienced talent pool. Several of his high-level nominees faced drawn-out battles — a few withdrew, but most were eventually approved.

Before Thune defeated two of his colleagues to win the leadership post, Trump said on social media that he wanted the new Senate leaders to push his nominees through using recess appointments, where the Senate would declare itself closed for business for 10 days so the president can appoint a Cabinet secretary for the remainder of the two-year session.

The tactic, conceived in the horse-and-buggy days when Congress met part time, would probably be challenged in court. Opponents argue against their routine use, and members of the Senate are historically protective of their role as a check on the executive branch.

Thune told South Dakota reporters Wednesday that he would prefer to avoid a recess appointment but did not rule it out.

“I’m willing to grind through it and do it the old-fashioned way,” he said, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

He reiterated that point to ABC News on Thursday, promising “we expect our committees to do their jobs and provide the advice and consent that is required under the Constitution.”

Lawmakers in both parties have already said they want to know more about the House Ethics probe into Gaetz, which was closed when he resigned his seat. The comments signal that they do not want to cede their right to review his record. One lawmaker who said he “absolutely” wants to see the House report was Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a high-ranking Republican member of the Judiciary Committee who ran against Thune for majority leader.

The use of recess appointments to avoid the Senate is a concern to some who’ve worked in the federal government.

Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said that immediately adjourning the Senate at the new president’s direction would signal a dark day for the country.

“This is the way it works in dictatorships,” said Painter, who ran for Senate in Minnesota in 2018 as a Democrat. “To have a president sworn in and then immediately dissolve Congress? Absolutely nuts.”

But the pressure to push Trump’s preferred choices is mounting. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, one of Trump’s most ardent allies, warned would-be dissenters during an appearance on Fox Business that if they stand in the way of Trump’s agenda, “we’re gonna try to get you out of the Senate.”

The Senate has a long tradition of protecting its status, as one of two houses in Congress, as part of a co-equal branch of government, even if the president is in the same party. The late Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada rankled some fellow Democrats in 2009 when he said in an interview: “I do not work for Barack Obama. I work with him.”

But a former Reid adviser, James Manley, said he believes Trump is consciously trying to erode that boundary, and he’s skeptical that Republican lawmakers have the stomach to stand up to him.

“The House is broken. They’ll do whatever he wants,” Manley said. “Now, he’s turned his attention to the Senate.”

Ben Olinsky, senior vice president of structural reform and governance at the liberal Center for American Progress, said that how the Senate handles this moment — where Trump is simultaneously putting forward deeply questionable candidates and demanding the Senate allow them to sail through without vetting — “will tell us a lot about what’s going to happen in the next couple of years.”

“I absolutely think it’s a test of independence and also integrity for them,” Olinsky said. “It may be a direct loyalty test from the president.”