Donald Trump tells J.D. Vance to step up support for Matt Gaetz as allegations of misconduct swirl
Unlock the free White House Watch newsletter
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Donald Trump sent J.D. Vance to Washington to drum up support for Matt Gaetz, the president-elect’s choice for attorney general, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse. drug use.
Vance, the vice president-elect, will serve as a kind of “sherpa” for Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host Trump nominated to be Secretary of Defense, according to a person familiar with the mission.
Elon Musk, Trump’s billionaire confidant, also rushed to his defense Gaetzposted on X that the former Florida congressman has three “key assets” needed to run the Justice Department — “a big brain, a spine of steel and an ax to grind.”
“He is the Judge Dredd America needs to clean up a corrupt system and put powerful bad guys behind bars,” musk added to refer to a fictional comic book character who pursues criminals in a dystopian world. “Gaetz will be our Hammer of Justice.”
The persuasive effort from Trump’s transition team comes as the House ethics committee prepares to vote on whether to release the results of its investigation into the drug and sex allegations against Gaetz.
US media also reported on Tuesday that a hacker downloaded documents from another civil lawsuit against the Florida congressman.
Trump sent shockwaves through Washington last week when he selected Gaetz, a 42-year-old conservative with little legal experience, as his nominee for attorney general.
Gaetz is being investigated by the US Department of Justice for allegedly having sex with an underage girl. Although no charges were brought, he remained the subject of a lengthy investigation by the House of Commons. Gaetz has denied allegations of wrongdoing.
The House investigation stalled last week when Gaetz resigned from Congress after being nominated by Trump to be attorney general. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a close Trump ally, called on the ethics committee to keep its report secret.
However, Mississippi Republican Michael Guest, the committee’s chairman, said the committee will make its own decision on how to proceed. The committee’s Democratic leader, Pennsylvania congresswoman Susan Wild, said the report “absolutely should be released to the public.”
Even if the report is officially kept secret, many in Washington expect it will be leaked by a member of Congress or staff or through other channels.
On Monday, lawyers for two women testified before the committee that Gaetz paid them for sex, telling several American news outlets that one of the women had seen him having sex. had sex with an underage girl at a party in 2017. Attorney Joel Leppard did the same. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gaetz and Hegseth — who have also been investigated for alleged sexual assault and deny any wrongdoing — will both need a majority of U.S. senators to confirm their appointments.
But the swirling allegations leave Gaetz, in particular, facing an uphill battle in the chamber, even though Republicans will have a 53-47 majority and could confirm him with the support of 50 senators. Doctor and Vance. Several Republican senators have raised concerns publicly and privately about his nomination to the DoJ’s top job.
In addition to Vance’s mission to Washington, Trump has begun calling Republican senators to urge them to support Gaetz.
North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer told Axios that he recently spoke with Trump on the phone and called the president-elect a “pretty convincing guy” who is “putting his political capital” behind nomination.
“Obviously he wants Matt Gaetz,” Cramer said. “He believes that Matt Gaetz really has the courage and ferocity to do what needs to be done at the Department of Justice.”
Additional reporting by Stefania Palma in Washington
