Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., faces considerable opposition for the post of attorney general, but some of President-elect Donald Trump’s other picks for top Department of Justice officials could serve to assuage concerned senators. A conservative firebrand, Gaetz’s appointment has ruffled feathers among the Senate GOP and sent Democrats into a frenzy. 

The stalwart Trump supporter has a long record of disregarding congressional norms and was the leading Republican architect of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster in 2023. He has also been the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation, the findings of which are likely to factor into the confirmation fight. The DOJ declined to bring charges against Gaetz after a years-long alleged sex-trafficking probe.

Gaetz is a graduate of the William & Mary School of Law but worked only briefly in private practice before entering public office. Standing in stark contrast to his nomination, however, are those whom Trump has named to serve as his deputies.

“We are building an incredible team at the Department of Justice in the Trump/Vance Administration!” Gaetz said. “We can’t wait to get to work for the American People.”

DOJ veterans and Trump loyalists

The president-elect announced this week that Todd Blanche, a veteran of the Southern District of New York, would serve as deputy attorney general. Blanche represented Trump in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money case, putting him firmly in the president-elect’s corner. Trump called him an "excellent attorney who will be a crucial leader in the Justice Department, fixing what has been a broken System of Justice for far too long."

Joining Blanche will be Emil Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general. Bove also represented Trump and, like Blanche, also served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

"Emil prosecuted terrorists and international drug traffickers as a Chief of the National Security Unit in the Southern District of New York United States Attorney’s Office, clerked for two Federal Judges, and graduated with Honors from Georgetown University Law Center," Trump said.

Dean John Sauer, who argued Trump’s presidential immunity case before the Supreme Court, is proposed to serve as his solicitor general, with the task of representing the government in front of that body. Trump touted Sauer’s win on immunity as “key to defeating the Unconstitutional campaign of Lawfare against me and the entire MAGA Movement.”

Rounding out his highest level picks in the DOJ so far is Jay Clayton, Trump’s former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, whom he tapped for the post of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. A major posting, the southern district has overseen high-profile cases such as that against FTX founder and Democratic party mega-donor Sam Bankman-Fried.

The trio of seasoned attorneys will work under Gaetz and could serve to ground the DOJ’s top brass with a measure of conventionality as the ex-Florida congressman organizes dramatic structural reforms.

Reassurances

In making the selection, Trump said he picked Gaetz to “end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.”

Gaetz’s experience on the House Judiciary Committee and his track record as an anti-institutional wrecking ball appear set to serve him well in accomplishing the first directive, while he may rely heavily on his deputies for much of that prerogative.

With Clayton overseeing the jurisdiction that includes New York City, the nation’s financial hub would be monitored by its former top regulator. Bove’s experience, moreover, would lend itself to organized crime and border-related affairs while Blanche’s record as a prosecutor addresses a litany of gang-related crimes and other federal offenses.

Collectively, Gaetz’s deputies would bring practical, prosecutorial experience on a range of matters under the purview of the DOJ that would keep the agency maintaining its core functions while the attorney general engages in its overhaul.

Overcoming opposition

Republicans will have 53 senators in the upper chamber when Gaetz comes up for confirmation. Some, however, have already expressed their concerns over his selections, signaling a potentially difficult confirmation battle in the weeks ahead.

The matter of Gaetz’s ethics committee report has already come to the forefront, with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., requesting the House report. House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, has indicated he would urge the panel not to publicly release the findings, calling such a move a “breach of protocol.” Gaetz resigned after Trump’s announcement to give his Florida district sufficient time to elect a replacement before the next Congress.

While his nomination has left some Republicans scratching their heads, the nominations of his deputies have some senators jubilant.

“John Sauer was my Solicitor General when I was Missouri Attorney General.  He is a legit genius, an incredible lawyer and I’m thrilled for him and his family,” posted Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. “He will be a great Solicitor General for the United States of America.”

Blanche and Bove, moreover, earned acclaim even from veteran DOJ officials such as former Trump Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the Mueller investigation and was a frequent target of conservative criticisms through the administration.

“Critics of unfit appointees should applaud when the President picks qualified people with integrity,” he said of the pair. “As Deputy AG, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove won't allow partisanship to sway DOJ prosecutions. The rule of law prevails.”

Recess appointments

Prior to the end of the Senate leadership contest, Trump called on the candidates to agree to recess appointments for his cabinet so as to speedily install his nominees and begin implementing his agenda. Such a process involves dismissing Congress for several days and appointing nominees while the chambers are not in session.

Speaking to Fox News’s Brett Baier, Senate Majority Leader John Thune was hesitant to commit to such appointments, saying “we want to do this the regular way, and give the Democrats a chance to work with us on getting people in place.”

Pressed on whether he thought Gaetz could secure confirmation in the Senate, he responded “I don't know the answer to that just yet. I mean, obviously, as you point out there, there certainly are some skeptics, but he deserves a process.”

Gaetz reshared a clip of the exchange on X, saying “great teamwork!”