Matt Gaetz nomination draws criticism - and evasion Donald Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz for attorney general has sparked outrage and shock. “This guy has been on the run from the law for quite some time now, so he’ll think he’s above it. He’ll be corrupt as hell,” said Olivia Troye, a former official in the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration who has become an outspoken critic of the former president. Robert Weissman, the co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen said it was “hard to imagine a worse and more unqualified candidate” than Gaetz. “As a member of Congress, Gaetz has demonstrated contempt for the rule of law, truth and decency. He is singularly unqualified to lead an agency that enforces civil rights laws and environmental protection statutes. Under Gaetz, we’d have every reason to expect an America where corporate criminals walk free but immigrants and people of color are harassed or rounded up with minimal pretext,” he said in a statement. Meanwhile Republicans in the Senate have been evading questions from reporters about whether they found Gaetz to be qualified and whether they would approve his nomination. Thom Tillis, a Republican senator of North Carolina told Politico’s Burgess Everett: “I’m all about counting votes, and I would think that he’s probably got some work cutout for him.” Unofficial results in Pennsylvania Senate seat trigger recount, official says The unofficial results in the race for the US Senate seat in Pennsylvania have triggered a legally required statewide recount, commonwealth secretary Al Schmidt has said. Democratic Senator Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick have vote totals within the one-half of 1% margin that triggers a mandatory recount under state law, Schmidt said in a statement. As of Wednesday, McCormick led by about 28,000 votes out of more than 6.9 million ballots counted. Counties must begin the recount no later than November 20 and must finish by noon on November 26. It largely involves running paper ballots through high-speed scanners, a process that former election officials say might not change the outcome by more than a few hundred votes. "It is an infinitesimal number, compared to the overall vote totals,” said Jeff Greenberg, a former Mercer County elections director. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican of Alaska, was open about her views on Matt Gaetz’s nomination. “We need a serious attorney general. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious,” she told reporters. “This one was not on my bingo card.” The New York Times also quoted her as adding: “I think it is really important that we don’t roll over on that role of advise and consent and we move through the nomination process. “If we get good candidates, we will be able to move through the nominations process, hopefully, really readily and that’ll be good for the president, good for him to get his team. But when you put forward picks that are really going to generate controversy, and not just controversy on one side of the aisle, it is going to take longer.” Today so far Donald Trump has been busy planning for his presidency, continuing to nominate a cadre of loyalists with few relevant qualifications to key posts. He named the former Democratic congresswoman and Trump campaign surrogate Tulsi Gabbard as his nominee for director of national intelligence, raising eyebrows given Gabbard’s choice to meet Syrian president Bashar al-Assad her skepticism about well-documented atrocities during the country’s civil war. He also named Matt Gaetz, who has protested election results along side far-right Proud Boys and is facing an ethics investigation over allegations he engaged in sex trafficking and had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Trump has officially named Florida senator Marco Rubio as his nominee for secretary of state. News of the choice filtered out over the past day or so, but Trump had not made it official, until today. Joe Biden met Trump at the White House, extending a courtesy to the president-elect and avowed political adversary that the Republican did not reciprocate in 2020, when refused to acknowledge Biden’s election victory. Before heading to the White House, the president-elect stopped by a meeting of House Republicans, who appear on course to preserve their majority, where he joked about seeking a third term. The constitution prohibits that, since he already served one term in the White House. Republican senators chose South Dakota’s John Thune as their new leader, replacing long-serving Mitch McConnell, who opted not to stand again for the job. Jack Smith will reportedly wind down his two prosecutions of Trump, one concerning the 2020 election and the other the classified documents found at his properties, and resign before the inauguration. The president-elect has vowed to fire Smith upon taking office, and justice department policy also prohibits the prosecution of sitting presidents. Matt Gaetz nomination draws criticism - and evasion Donald Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz for attorney general has sparked outrage and shock. “This guy has been on the run from the law for quite some time now, so he’ll think he’s above it. He’ll be corrupt as hell,” said Olivia Troye, a former official in the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration who has become an outspoken critic of the former president. Robert Weissman, the co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen said it was “hard to imagine a worse and more unqualified candidate” than Gaetz. “As a member of Congress, Gaetz has demonstrated contempt for the rule of law, truth and decency. He is singularly unqualified to lead an agency that enforces civil rights laws and environmental protection statutes. Under Gaetz, we’d have every reason to expect an America where corporate criminals walk free but immigrants and people of color are harassed or rounded up with minimal pretext,” he said in a statement. Meanwhile Republicans in the Senate have been evading questions from reporters about whether they found Gaetz to be qualified and whether they would approve his nomination. Thom Tillis, a Republican senator of North Carolina told Politico’s Burgess Everett: “I’m all about counting votes, and I would think that he’s probably got some work cutout for him.” Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman of Kentucky, had an interesting response to reporters asking him what he made of the Matt Gaetz nomination: “Recess appointments”. Despite coming into office with a Republican senate full of supporters, Donald Trump has been pushing for “recess appointments” to give himself even more authority to pick whomever he wants to fill cabinet positions. Normally, the Senate approves presidential nominations for high-level posts, but the the Constitution allows the president to install officials without Senate approval while Congress is not in session. In recent years, the Senate has avoided going on extended recesses to block the president from making such appointments. Neither Trump nor Joe Biden used recesses to make appointments during their terms, in part because the practice of using the loophole to make appointments was curtailed following a Supreme Court ruling that Obama overstepped his power in making recess nominations. Trump wants the practice reinstated. Amid the race to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate leader, however, Trump posted on X: “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!)” If Trump is able to bring back recess appointments, then Gaetz becomes attorney general, Massie told reporters. “He’s the Attorney General. Suck it up.” Donald Trump will be taking office with a Republican Senate, one filled with allies who appear ready to enable him fully. Though it remains unclear if Matt Gaetz will receive a Senate confirmation, it’s clear that some of Gaetz’s one-time critics are ready to back Trump’s nominees. Oklahoma congressman Markwayne Mullin has previously accused Gaetz of sharing videos of girls he slept with on the House floor. He told CNN last year that Gaetz would “brag about how he would crush ED medicine and chase it with an energy drink so he could go all night”. On CNN just now, he said, “I completely trust President Trump’s decision making on this one.” Mullin admitted that Gaetz is likely to face tough questions at his hearing. “Hopefully he;s able to answer the questions right, and if he can then we’ll go through the confirmation process.” Mullin himself has been floated as an option for Interior secretary or secretary of Veterans Affairs. Moderate Republican senator Susan Collins "shocked" by Gaetz appointment Susan Collins, the moderate Republican senator of Maine told reporters she was “shocked” but the Matt Gaetz nomination. “I was shocked by the announcement — that shows why the advise-and-consent process is so important,” Collins said. “I’m sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing.” Matt Gaetz has been one of the most loyal backers of Donald Trump in the capitol, supporting Trump’s attempts to deny the results of the 2020 election. He voted with about 150 Republicans to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Along with members of the far-right group the Proud Boys, he took part in protests against the result of a Senate race in Florida. He also evoked language adopted by the Proud Boys at Trump’s hush money trial earlier this year, posting on social media: “Standing back, and standing by, Mr. President” along with a photo of him with Trump and other congressional Republicans. Capitol Hill reporters are gathering shocked and evasive responses from Republicans reacting to the Gaetz nomination. Senator Chuck Grassley stopped talking to reporters when asked for his reaction. House Appropriations chair Tom Cole avoided responding as well: “I know nothing about it.” Senator Ron Johnson: “The president gets to pick his nominees.” Attorney general-nominee Gaetz remains under ethics committee investigation over sexual misconduct Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman who Donald Trump just nominated to be his attorney general, has for years faced allegations of sexual misconduct. Last year, Gaetz said the justice department had closed an investigation that began after allegations emerged of the congressman having sex with a 17-year-old girl and paying for her travel. The House ethics committee earlier this year announced that it was beginning its own inquiry into whether Gaetz “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favours to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct”.