Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) predicted Wednesday that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), President-elect Trump’s pick for attorney general, will not get confirmed by the Senate.
Asked for his response to Trump’s Cabinet picks so far, McCarthy told Bloomberg Television in an interview, “I think the choices are very good, except one.”
“Look, Gaetz won’t get confirmed,” he continued. “Everybody knows that.”
McCarthy, a loyal Trump ally while serving in the House, was asked why the former president would bother tapping Gaetz if he knew the Florida Republican couldn’t get confirmed.
“You can talk to [the] president, but it’s a good deflection from others, but it also gives …” McCarthy responded, cutting himself off. “I’ll let it stand at that.”
Pressed again for some insight into Trump’s thought process, McCarthy said, “You’d have to ask the president, but Gaetz couldn’t win in a Republican conference, so it doesn’t matter.”
McCarthy has had a long-standing feud with Gaetz, who spearheaded the effort to oust the California Republican from his leadership post last fall. The former Speaker resigned from the House late last year and has maintained that Gaetz only wanted to remove him over an ethics complaint.
The former GOP leader and his allies led an unsuccessful multimillion-dollar effort to defeat Gaetz in a primary challenge in August. The two also clashed on the floor of the Republican National Convention one month earlier, when Gaetz taunted McCarthy about not having a speaking slot.
Trump on Wednesday announced a series of nominations, including Gaetz for the top law enforcement post in the country. The announcement took many Senate Republicans by surprise, and some expressed skepticism that his nomination could get through the upper chamber.
Among the main concerns for some senators likely will be the Department of Justice’s years-long investigation into allegations that Gaetz had sexual intercourse with an underage girl. The investigation was closed last year, and the Florida lawmaker was not criminally charged. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The House Ethics Committee was investigating whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations. With Gaetz’s resignation from the lower chamber, the panel no longer has jurisdiction but could still vote to release the report.
