[Hoot Gibson]

Gaetz faces dim path to confirmation

Gaetz is one of the most controversial figures in the House, where he serves on the Judiciary Committee. Known as a hard-liner, he was the Republican who initiated the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Gaetz has support from some corners of the GOP, particularly grassroots conservatives, but he has few friends in Congress and would have a difficult time getting confirmed.

"Look, I love President Trump. I support every single one of his picks," Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) told the Washington Examiner Wednesday. "But this one will never get through the Senate. And I would venture to go talk to every single House member out there to see how excited we are that he potentially can be leaving and will never get confirmed."

Miller slammed Gaetz's nomination as a"reckless pick," but said he's "happy that he's out of the House, or will be soon."

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) was still processing the choice when asked about his nomination. “That's an uff da," he said, using a humorous Midwestern phrase for when hearing bad news. "Huh, I don't know what to make of it. To be determined."

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she was “shocked by the announcement" in a brief interview, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said, “I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general.”

You're not going to persuade anybody in this forum who was not dumb enough to vote for Kamala Harris, that any Trump AG nominee would not be a huge upgrade over the guy that weaponized the Department of Justice over the past four years. This nation dodged a bullet when McConnell blocked Merrick Garland from a seat on the Supreme Court. As hard as it might be to believe, Alejandro Myorka is ten times worse than Garland and infinitely worse than Gaetz.

Where were your objections to Merrick Garland's politicization of the DoJ? Trump's first AG appointment, Jeff Sessions, ran the department the way it should be run. Now, it has been packed with political activists under the stewardship of Garland. Gaetz, or whoever Trump ultimately appoints, will spend way much time having to clean up the mess that Garland will leave behind.

Have you ever watched Homeland Security Secretary Myorkis in a Congressional hearing? If not, then I strongly you suggest that you do so before you criticize another Trump appointment. Your initial reaction will be that Myorkis is being badgered by Republicans, but if you watch enough of his performances, you will understand why every Republican who has the unenviable task of getting answers to the most basic of questions from Myorkis seems to be in a bad mood. If Democrats in Congress had any honor, they would join with Republicans and send Myorkis packing. In all of the years that I have followed American politics, I have never seen a more worthless cabinet member than Myorkis. He is as big a threat to national security as any individual on the terrorist watch list.