President-elect Donald Trump shocked Washington D.C. and most of the country last week when he announced Rep. Matt Gaetz, now resigned from Congress, as his pick for U.S. Attorney General.
The selection of Gaetz came just days before a House Ethics Committee vote regarding allegations he faced, including "sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, accepting improper gifts, obstruction and other allegations," NBC News reported.
Shortly after news of Trump's selection hit the headlines, Gaetz announced his resignation from Congress, therefore effectively shutting down the House Ethics Committee investigation.
However, Gaetz still needs to be confirmed in the Senate, and even though Republicans now control the upper chamber, some top GOP Senate leaders are wanting additional details about the probe into Gaetz before giving him their blessing as AG.
Given that the House Ethics Committee only has jurisdiction over sitting members of Congress, Gaetz's sudden resignation all but killed the investigation, which has been ongoing since 2021.
NBC News noted:
Many Republican senators, including members of the GOP-led Judiciary Committee that will oversee Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, said they'll want to see the details of the House Ethics investigation into Gaetz.
"I think it would be helpful," said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-IA. Other top GOP senators agreed.
Sen.-elect John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, added, "I don’t know the technicalities, or whether or not we would see that, but I think that would be very relevant," saying he would "absolutely" like to know more details about the House investigation, if possible.
Sen. John Cornyn (R) of Texas, one of the top choices to replace Mitch McConnell as the GOP Senate Leader, revealed that he's open to issuing a subpoena to garner details of the House Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz.
"We need to have a complete vetting of the nominees, not only so we know that the nominee is qualified, but also to protect the president," Cornyn said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), expressed concern over the Senate issuing a subpoena to a House committee.
"I’d go ape s--- if they tried to subpoena something over here," Graham said, implying that the matter could become complicated quickly.
Political observers are split on Gaetz's overall chances of being confirmed, even with a Republican-controlled upper chamber.
Some believe that Trump's pull will get him through, while others believe he has too much of a past and not the best reputation in Congress. Only time will tell.
