Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was reportedly the secret contact last month who told President-elect Donald Trump that his choice for attorney general, former Representative Matt Gaetz, did not have enough votes for confirmation in the Senate – the lead defense nominee. A change in strategy for subsequent nominees such as Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Cruz, 53, met with Gaetz amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations — including House Ethics Committee report suppressed since then over allegations that he had sex with a minor in 2017 — and later told the 45th president that his nominee didn’t have the numbers, Politico reported,
According to the outlet, Trump, 78, called his attorney general nominee the morning after his conversation with Cruz, saying, “I don’t think you have any way.”
As a former solicitor general of Texas, Cruz also expressed reservations about an ex-Florida Republican taking the top law enforcement post in the second Trump administration, people familiar with the discussions told POLITICO.
Newly reported details come in weeks When the Post learned that a private whip count had been shared And Trump and Gaetz were relayed, showing no path forward for the AG pick.
Cruz accompanied Trump during the deliberations. They both attended Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket launch in Texas on November 19, presumably when they got the opportunity to talk.
Getz, 42, withdrew from the confirmation fight After two days.
Trump’s transition spokesman said at the time that it was entirely Gaetz’s choice.
The former GOP representative withdrew his nomination just a day after meeting with GOP senators on the Hill.
Gaetz indicated in his outgoing statement that interest in his potentially damaging ethics report and swirling allegations about his past would distract from the nomination process for Trump.
He did not explain how he reached this decision.
“It is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction from the important work of the Trump/Vance transition,” he wrote on X.
Gaetz said, “There is no time to waste in unnecessarily prolonging the controversy in Washington, so I will be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General.” “Trump’s DOJ should be in place and ready on day one.”
Trump’s transition team has since taken a more public approach to pressure senators to remain in line on further appointments.
Specifically, once more the future President has indicated no loss of confidence In his Pentagon pick, Hegseth was declared the “winner”.
“Pete Hegseth is doing great. “Their support is stronger and deeper than fake news would have you believe,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last week.
“He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a military mindset. He will be a brilliant, energetic, defense secretary,” he said, adding that the former Fox News personality “will be someone who leads with charisma and skill.”
Both Cruz and the Trump transition team did not respond to inquiries from The Post about whether any such conversations took place.
Gaetz, who now hosts a show on One American News Network, also did not respond to inquiries.
(TagstoTranslate)Politics(T)US News(T)Donald Trump(T)Matt Gaetz(T)Ted Cruz
