President-elect Donald Trump has been making calls to bolster his pick to lead the Justice Department — Matt Gaetz — who is already facing skepticism from some Republican senators, according to sources familiar with his push.
Trump has been “heavily working the phones” to Republican senators for their support on behalf of Gaetz, according to a transition official.
Separately, Vice President-elect JD Vance posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was helping Trump interview candidates including to run the FBI. (The tweet was later deleted.) Current FBI head Chris Wray's term doesn't expire until 2027, 10 years after Trump appointed him, but is preparing for the possibility that the president-elect may seek to replace him.
Vance was in the Capitol on Tuesday, voting against judicial nominees that Biden made that are continuing to be confirmed. He will be back on Wednesday to talk to fellow senators in support of Trump's nominees, including Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, who he intends to nominate to be defense secretary.
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Trump announced Gaetz as his pick nearly a week ago. Gaetz was the subject of a federal sex crimes probe and was not charged with any crimes. The probe stalled over concerns about the credibility of two key witnesses or a lack of direct evidence implicating Gaetz, who has denied all wrongdoing. A lawyer for those witnesses has come forward to detail their testimony to the House Ethics Committee.
The transition official said they knew from the start that getting the Senate to approve Gaetz would be “an uphill battle” and that a “full-throttled effort” would be engaged to get him confirmed. The official said Trump’s transition knows Gaetz is the toughest confirmation they will have to fight for by far.
When Trump initially called Gaetz, informing the then-congressman of his plan to nominate him as attorney general, Gaetz told Trump, “This whole thing is going to be an uphill battle,” according to the transition official. “Trump told Gaetz it was one he wanted to fight,” the official said.
The Trump transition did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The transition team believes the worst-case scenario for them is that Sen. John Thune, the recently elected Senate Majority leader for the new congress, backs a letter co-signed by other Republican senators disapproving of Gaetz’s appointment.
Multiple Republican senators said they have received calls from Gaetz himself to discuss the nomination.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, said he had received a phone call from Trump personally urging him to support Gaetz. Trump “is always persuasive and has earned the capital from the voters. I remain skeptical but open as the process moves,” Cramer said.
Since his sweeping election victory, Trump has charted a rapid pace of nominations to push through once he takes office.
Trump is picking his cabinet at a much faster rate than in 2016. As of Tuesday, Trump has announced 28 senior positions to serve in his next administration, including his choice to lead the departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security, and Commerce, as well as his Director of National Intelligence and National Security Adviser, among others. As of November 19, 2016, after being elected president for the first time, Trump had only announced three.
Trump appointments and nominees
Here are some of the people that President-elect Donald Trump has named for high-profile positions in his administration. Positions in orange require Senate confirmation.
Source: NBC News
Trump is also picking at a quicker speed than Biden, who made his first choice just over a week after Election Day 2020, with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. This year, Trump announced his first pick to be White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles just two days after election day.
A transition official said Trump was expected to meet Tuesday morning with his former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson at Mar-a-Lago for a meeting focused on the possibility that he could return in the same role. The official said Carson and Trump are in close communication and it is their expectation that Carson will soon be announced as Trump’s nominee for that job.
Unknown is whom Trump will select to lead the Treasury Department, a prize cabinet post. Weighing in on the selection over the weekend was Elon Musk, the billionaire recently tapped to serve as the head of a new ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’ and a near-constant presence at Mar-a-Lago.
Musk had vouched for Howard Lutnick, a key transition adviser and billionaire financial services executive whom Trump selected for the top Commerce job on Tuesday, keeping open the field of potential candidates still longer.
Scott Wong, Annemarie Bonner and Garrett Haake contributed.
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