Donald Trump’s transition process was supposed to be relatively smooth. A recent Semafor report, for example, noted that the president-elect’s transition was “designed to be ‘orderly’ by advisers who have more eager congressional Republican allies this time around.”
But, the report added, the “consistent chaos and confusion that defined Trump’s first administration are already descending on Washington.”
By this point, the list is probably familiar. More than seven weeks after Election Day, the incoming GOP president has been plagued by personnel flops, legislative failures, diplomatic debacles and a bizarre preoccupation with a “mandate” that quantitatively does not exist. By any fair measure, Team Trump is struggling with the most shambolic transition process in modern history, as the Republican steps on one rake after another.
There’s one specific fiasco, however, that warrants special attention. David Firestone’s latest column in The New York Times rang true:
There is so much repellently sleazy behavior documented in the House Ethics Committee report about Matt Gaetz that a reader has to stop every few pages to look away and focus on what still seems astounding: This is the man that Donald Trump wanted to be the attorney general of the United States, the highest-ranking law enforcement official in the land, the leader of the Department of Justice.
The House Ethics Committee — in a report released to the public the day before Christmas Eve — found “substantial evidence” that the Florida Republican “regularly” paid women for sex and had sex with a 17-year-old during his tenure on Capitol Hill. The same report accused Gaetz of using or possessing illegal drugs, including cocaine; accepting improper gifts; and helping a woman “with whom he engaged in sexual activity” in obtaining an expedited passport.
The committee found “substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report added.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. A separate Justice Department investigation into allegations he engaged in sex trafficking concluded last year without bringing any charges against him.
It is difficult to say with confidence whether Trump knew about any of this when he chose the former congressman to serve as attorney general. The president-elect and his team don’t appear to be investing much time or energy into any credible vetting process, so it’s possible they were in the dark about the scope and scale of Gaetz’s alleged misconduct. It’s also possible, of course, that Trump and his team were indifferent to the seriousness of the allegations.
But either way, the larger point remains the same: The incoming president could’ve chosen anyone to lead federal law enforcement in the United States. Trump settled on a politician who, according to the House Ethics Committee’s findings, “regularly” paid women for sex, had sex with a 17-year-old, accepted improper gifts, and used or possessed illegal drugs.
And that, in and of itself, deserves to be its own scandal. The list of mistakes the president-elect has made during his transition process is not short, but the Gaetz debacle is special.
What does it say about Trump and his judgment when, given an opportunity to pick anyone to serve as attorney general, he chose someone accused by the House Ethics Committee of having possibly “violated … state and federal laws”? Let’s not forget that during Gaetz’s eight-day tenure as Trump’s choice to oversee the Justice Department, the president-elect reportedly called senators directly to lobby on the former congressman’s behalf, effectively vouching for Gaetz. The funny thing about putting one’s credibility on the line is that there are supposed to be consequences when they fail in humiliating fashion. What’s more, it’s not just Trump. President-elect JD Vance personally escorted Gaetz from office to office, putting his own credibility on the line in the hopes of advancing Trump’s ridiculous selection. A variety of Republican senators — South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville, I’m looking in your direction — also indicated that they were inclined to confirm Gaetz to one of the nation’s most powerful and important offices. Maybe they, too, ought to also face some accountability in light of the allegations raised in the House Ethics Committee’s report? Doesn’t it make sense to conclude that their own reputations have taken a meaningful hit? Isn’t it worse given that the former congressman’s prospective nomination collapsed after eight days, meaning they did this for nothing? The Gaetz scandal isn’t just about Gaetz. It’s also about those who thought it’d be a sensible and responsible move to elevate the Florida Republican to the attorney general’s office.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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