Gaetz, litmus test for GOP unity with Trump

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has never left anyone indifferent. He makes his presence felt wherever he goes and is intimately associated with controversy, a constant in his career. He showed no hesitation in filing the motion that ousted his fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy from the Speakership, nor in defending his positions over the needs of his party. His nomination by Donald Trump as a candidate for attorney general has sparked intense debate in the GOP, particularly among senators, about the suitability of his appointment. It promises to be a litmus test of the Senate's alignment of upper house lawmakers with the president-elect.

In fact, many analysts suggest that this was precisely Trump’s intention when he brought Gaetz’s name to the forefront: to test whether he has the unwavering loyalty of GOP senators—a crucial issue for the magnate to push through the most controversial measures he promised during his campaign. Despite the fact that his old rival Mitch McConnell no longer leads the caucus, he still holds his Senate seat, and it would take just 4 of the 53 conservative senators in the Upper House to block the nomination—or any initiative—during his presidency.

Gaetz denies the accusations and calls on senators, with whom he will meet Wednesday

Beyond the sympathies he elicits, and his placement among the GOP's hardcore hawks, the main obstacle for Gaetz is the House Ethics Committee's ongoing investigation against him. The gravity of the allegations - "sexual misconduct and illicit drug use" - means that at least nine senators have shown their doubts about his suitability.

Although Gaetz has always denied the charges, including having sex with a minor and paying for sex, and began visiting and calling his Senate party colleagues with whom he has greater trust to ask them for a chance, CNN reports. He is expected to go on Wednesday, along with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, to meet with conservative lawmakers in the upper chamber in an effort to secure his nomination.

Senate Judiciary committee asks to see report against Gaetz

It won't be an easy task. The incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, has asked that the report of the Lower House Ethics Committee be provided to them so they can study it and vote accordingly. Something that Trump himself and speaker Mike Johnson, among others, radically oppose and that more than 100 Democratic lawmakers have demanded be made public immediately. For the time being, members of this commission will meet Wednesday.

The division among Republicans over whether to appoint someone over whom such serious accusations hang has been rising, with several congressmen from both chambers exchanging remarks in the media. The chairman of the Ethics Committee himself, conservative Michael Guest, further fueled doubts by voicing his reluctance to follow his party leaders' directives - it takes just one Republican dissenting for the report to be made public. The response, as sharp as her style, came from Marjorie Taylor-Greene, one of the first always to jump into the arena in this type of disputes.

Taylor-Greene, on the charge against colleagues who want to "rip apart our own"

The Georgia representative used her X account to launch a message to her colleagues, warning them that if they want to dump the report against "ours," she will do everything in her power to make all investigations against representatives handled by this committee public, also revealing dangerous details about some of them: