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Donald Trump's choice of Rep. Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general was disturbing and shocking to some, while others, like Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, seemed mighty confident the Florida Republican won't actually be attorney general when all is said and done. But listening to some GOP senators, it sure seems like Gaetz might end up with the gig.
“President Trump and JD Vance are gonna be running the Senate,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama told Fox News on Wednesday.
When asked about whether Gaetz can make it through a Senate confirmation to become attorney general, Tuberville personally had no qualms about the pro-insurrectionist lawmaker assuming the top law enforcement job in the country. (Not to mention Gaetz has been the subject of multiple investigations into allegations he engaged in sexual misconduct. The Justice Department concluded its investigation last year without filing any charges against Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing.)
Tuberville told Fox News:
You’re finding all the swamp creatures coming out right now. Everybody’s got an opinion up here. But at the end of the day, President Trump was elected by an enormous vote, and he deserves a team around him that he wants. It’s not us to determine that. We’ve got 53 votes in the Senate. We can confirm with 51.
I wouldn’t call Trump’s victory “enormous.” In fact, what appeared — to some — to be a landslide for Trump in the immediate wake of the election has become less so as results continued to roll in from some states, including California and Pennsylvania. Aside from that, Tuberville voted against President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees 15 times in 2021, despite Biden having won the 2020 election with a larger popular vote margin than Trump will end up with in this year's election. So Tuberville’s belief that it’s not the Senate’s job to determine who a president wants in his Cabinet reeks of hypocrisy.
Nonetheless, the senator issued a threat to other Republican senators that amounted to, “fall in line … or else.”
He said:
I’ve already seen where a couple of them says, ‘I’m not voting for him.’ Wait a minute — you are not the United States of America. You have one vote in the U.S. Senate. You did not get elected the president. Vote with President Trump. This is the last chance we’re gonna have of saving this country. And if you wanna get in the way, fine. But we’re gonna try to get you out of the Senate, too, if you try to do that.
I know some people think Gaetz has too much baggage to be confirmed, but statements like Tuberville’s suggest servility to Trump might be more widespread than some are willing to believe.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has already fallen in line, pleading in a Fox News appearance on Thursday for Republicans to “give Matt a chance.” And Sen. Markwayne Mullin, the Oklahoma Republican who made news last year when he publicly expressed disgust with Gaetz's alleged conduct — which Gaetz later called a lie — told CNN on Thursday that there are lingering “questions” about Gaetz. Still, he said, “I completely trust Trump’s decision-making on this one.”
Some may be holding out hope that Republicans will stand up to Trump in any way. But as Joy Reid discussed on Tuesday’s episode of “The ReidOut,” it seems more likely they’ll double down on sycophancy.