Editorial: The bombastic Matt Gaetz cannot become the US attorney general

Matt Gaetz, the House-wrecking Florida congressman, cannot be U.S. attorney general. No way at all. We know that this isn’t a joke because Donald Trump published the proposed nomination on his Truth Social at 3:24 Wednesday afternoon, surprising flabbergasted Democrats and Republicans.

It must not happen. Gaetz, who had been under a DOJ criminal probe for allegations about sex trafficking involving a minor, cannot be the person running the agency, which is supposed to be the guarantor of the rights of all Americans. While the new president is entitled to select his own cabinet, the individuals must be qualified for the important posts they will hold. Gaetz is not.

Trump should withdraw Gaetz’s name. If he insists on going forward, the Senate, Republicans and Democrats alike, must say no to any confirmation and if so thwarted, Trump must not use a recess appointment to sneak Gaetz in through the side door.

In his announcement, Trump said, “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System.” What he’s talking about are the two federal indictments he’s facing (for now) over purloined classified documents and for the plot to overturn the 2020 election. That’s not “Weaponized Government” but the pursuit of justice. Of course, Trump doesn’t mention that the same Biden administration DOJ prosecuted and convicted Hunter Biden.

However, assuming that “Weaponized Government” exists (which it doesn’t), Gaetz is not one to neutralize it, but ramp it up. He sees the levers of government not as tools to improve the lot of citizens, but for political warfare. He is single handedly to blame for overthrowing Kevin McCarthy as House speaker only a year ago, throwing the House, the sole bastion of Republican power, into chaos.

So Mr. Chaos, who took down the Republican who was second in line to the presidency, is now going to become Mr. Law and Order?

Republicans and Democrats should shudder at that.

The AG doesn’t have to have some kind of apolitical legal expert like university president Edward Levi that President Jerry Ford brought in to restore professionalism and credibility after Watergate (when Nixon’s AG, John Michell, went to prison), but there are minimum standards to be the top law enforcement officer in the nation.

Probity, discretion, fairness, judgment, compassion come to mind and Gaetz doesn’t meet any of those standards, with the exception that he went to law school and has a law license.

The outrageous and outlandish idea of Gaetz atop the DOJ might just be a ruse by Trump to please his furthest right flank that wanted bomb throwers and provocateurs seeded throughout the federal government. “Tear it all down!” they cheer.

When Gaetz fails to become AG, as has to be the outcome, Trump can then still appeal to that energized slice of his supporters that he tried to be true to the cause and was blocked by the establishment.

An untrustworthy, hyperpolitical and suspect person leading any cabinet agency is an affront to good government. But the Department of Justice, which alone has the power to enforce the law and prosecute, makes it a nightmare. Attorney General Matt Gaetz is the nightmare come to life.

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