In selecting Matt Gaetz to be his next attorney general, President-elect Donald J. Trump chose a right-wing firebrand and internet troll who has spent part of the past seven years in Congress insulting the very people whose votes he needs to be confirmed for the job.
Mr. Gaetz, the former congressman from Florida who resigned this week, is best known for leading the effort to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whom he still frequently taunts. He has made waves for unsavory comments directed at abortion rights activists (whom he called ugly and overweight), and his Republican colleagues in the House, whom he frequently berated as weak and feckless.
He has also turned his megaphone on Republican senators who are now in charge of the effort to vet and confirm him. Given the G.O.P.’s slim Senate majority, Mr. Gaetz can afford to lose the support of only three Republicans (assuming all Democrats vote against him) if he wants to be confirmed.
So far, at least five have indicated they are skeptical that Mr. Gaetz could win confirmation. They include Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Additionally, Senator John Cornyn of Texas called on Thursday for the release of a House Ethics Committee report into allegations of sexual misconduct, illegal drug use and other accusations against Mr. Gaetz (all of which the former congressman has denied).
Here are the senators who have been the targets of Mr. Gaetz’s jabs, critiques and insults, which could come back to haunt him as he seeks their votes.
Gaetz called Senator Mitch McConnell “dangerous” and “McFailure,” and cheered his retirement from Republican leadership.
Mr. Gaetz has made no secret of his disdain for establishment Republicans, chief among them Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader. In 2021, after Mr. McConnell gave a speech castigating Mr. Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that year, Mr. Gaetz called Mr. McConnell “dangerous,” saying during an interview on Fox News that he was trying to “purge Trumpism from our movement.”
This year, the former Florida congressman branded Mr. McConnell “McFailure” and even suggested that Senate Republicans should stage a coup of their leader as he had done of Mr. McCarthy.
When Mr. McConnell announced he would be stepping down from his leadership post, Mr. Gaetz rejoiced on social media.
Mr. McConnell has not publicly stated whether he would support a Gaetz nomination.
Gaetz called Senator Markwayne Mullin “a disgrace to the Republican Party.”
Mr. Gaetz has quarreled publicly numerous times with Senator Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican and former House colleague who has accused Mr. Gaetz of showing sexually explicit photos and videos of underage girls to colleagues on the House floor. Mr. Gaetz has denied it.
The two men have traded insults in TV interviews and on social media. Mr. Mullin has described Mr. Gaetz as not “a principled individual” and asserted that, “Matt Gaetz is about watching out for himself, and that’s it.”
In a separate tiff over allegations that Mr. Mullin had violated insider trading rules, Mr. Gaetz called him a “disgrace to the Republican Party.”
But since the news of Mr. Gaetz’s nomination broke, Mr. Mullin has made an about-face. He said that even though the two men had their differences, “I completely trust President Trump’s decision making on this one,” Mr. Mullin told CNN’s Jake Tapper. At the same time though, Mr. Mullin said Mr. Gaetz would have to “sell himself” to the Senate.
“There’s a lot of questions that are going to be out there. He’s got to answer those questions, and hopefully he’s able to answer the questions right. And if he can, then we’ll go through the confirmation process.”
Gaetz suggested that Senator Thom Tillis had been untruthful.
Mr. Gaetz in 2020 heavily criticized Mr. Tillis, the Republican Senator from North Carolina, for refusing to call for the resignation of Richard Burr, then a fellow senator from North Carolina who has since left Congress, after Mr. Burr was accused of violating insider trading laws.
“Real leaders tell the truth, Senator Tillis,” Mr. Gaetz wrote on social media.
Mr. Tillis said this week that he was doubtful Mr. Gaetz could get confirmed.
“I think he’s got a lot of work to do to get 50” votes, Mr. Tillis said of Mr. Gaetz, The Associated Press reported. “I’m sure it will make for a popcorn-eating confirmation hearing. Mr. Gaetz and I have jousted on certain issues between the House and the Senate.”
Gaetz opposed Senator-elect Tim Sheehy of Montana for being McConnell’s pick.
Mr. Gaetz came out against Republican Tim Sheehy in Montana’s Senate primary, deriding him as “Mitch McConnell’s choice” to challenge the Democrat, Senator, Jon Tester.
Mr. Gaetz instead backed his House colleague, Representative Matt Rosendale, who dropped his bid not long after starting it.
Mr. Sheehy has not spoken publicly about whether he would vote to confirm Mr. Gaetz.
Gaetz mocked Senator-elect John Curtis of Utah as “Mitt Romney without good hair.”
Mr. Gaetz also campaigned against Representative John Curtis of Utah in the Republican primary for Senate in that state for the seat vacated by Senator Mitt Romney, who is retiring.
“John Curtis is Mitt Romney without good hair,” Gaetz said at a campaign event in Riverton, Utah, where he endorsed the mayor, Trent Staggs as the “America First” conservative who should win.
“I need Republicans who will actually fight,” Mr. Gaetz told The Salt Lake Tribune after the event. “And what I’ve seen in John Curtis for the last several years in the House has been weakness — or a willingness to prioritize foreign interests abroad, special interests in the halls of Washington.”
Mr. Curtis has also made no public comment about Mr. Gaetz’s nomination.
Gaetz backed Senator Rick Scott but is now cozying up to Senator John Thune.
In recent days, Mr. Gaetz has changed his tone considerably in what appears to be a last-ditch effort at diplomacy and courtesy. On Friday, Mr. Gaetz took to social media to praise Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, who was elected this week as majority leader for the new Congress.
Days earlier, Mr. Gaetz had urged senators to vote for Senator Rick Scott, a fellow Floridian and the preferred candidate of the MAGA right, as their next leader. He implied that a vote for Mr. Thune or Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the two establishment figures in the race to succeed Mr. McConnell, would mean more of the same in the Senate.
Neither Mr. Thune nor Mr. Cornyn has said whether they will support Mr. Gaetz. Mr. Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over Justice Department nominees, has said that in order to properly vet Mr. Gaetz for the post, he will insist on seeing the House Ethics Committee report.
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