Speaking during a Sunday, November 17 interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) said that he is all on board with President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to appoint former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as Attorney General. Speaker Johnson added that he is urging his fellow Republicans in the Senate to confirm Gaetz.
Announcing Gaetz’s appointment in a post on Truth Social, President-Elect Trump said, “It is my Great Honor to announce that Congressman Matt Gaetz, of Florida, is hereby nominated to be The Attorney General of the United States. Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice. Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System.”
He continued, “Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department. On the House Judiciary Committee, which performs oversight of DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization. He is a Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law. Matt will root out the systemic corruption at DOJ, and return the Department to its true mission of fighting Crime, and upholding our Democracy and Constitution. We must have Honesty, Integrity, and Transparency at DOJ. Under Matt’s leadership, all Americans will be proud of the Department of Justice once again.”The Gaetz pick has drawn sharp reactions from Establishment Republicans and Democrats, who view Gaetz as too far to the right. But Speaker Johnson has taken his side, somewhat surprisingly. He said, during his Fox News Sunday appearance, “The reason that Matt Gaetz is such an exciting pick to so many people is because he will go in and reform the Department of Justice. It desperately needs it.”
Continuing, Speaker Johnson explained that he and Gaetz served together on the House Judiciary Committee, on which they saw the dastardly deeds the DOJ has been up to. He said, “Look, he and I sat on the Judiciary Committee together for almost seven years before I became Speaker of the House. And we heard the evidence. We saw the evidence of lawfare.”
