WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – President-elect Donald Trump chose Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general on Wednesday, bypassing more experienced options in favor of a loyalist who has built a national reputation as a disruptor and whom Trump has tasked with dramatically overhauling the Justice Department.
Trump also announced that he had tapped Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state. And he selected Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress and presidential candidate, to serve as his director of national intelligence.
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The choices continued a pattern of Trump stocking his Cabinet with those he believes he can trust to execute his agenda rather than longtime officials with experience in their fields. Gaetz's selection, in particular, was seen as a shock. The Florida lawmaker was not among the more established attorneys who had been mentioned as contenders for the job, and even his colleagues in Congress appeared stunned by the news.
“Everybody was saying, ‘Oh my God,’" said Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho. “That was about as big a surprise as I’ve had in a long time."
Gaetz resigned from his House seat Wednesday evening.
Trump announced the decision in a post in his Truth Social network, saying Gaetz would “root out the systemic corruption at DOJ, and return the Department to its true mission of fighting Crime, and upholding our Democracy and Constitution.”
If confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, Gaetz would instantly become one of the most closely watched members of Trump’s Cabinet given his avowed loyalty to a president-elect who has threatened to pursue retribution against perceived adversaries.
Gaetz represents much of the Florida Panhandle and became a conservative star when he joined Congress, appearing as a frequent staunch defender of Trump on cable news.
He irked fellow GOP members in early 2023 when he filed the resolution that successfully ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy then helped fund a primary challenge to Gaetz that included commercials alleging that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old, an allegation that had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee — though that probe effectively ended Wednesday when Gaetz resigned from Congress. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and the Justice Department ended its own sex trafficking investigation without bringing charges against him.
House Republicans first got wind of the nomination during a private meeting and initially thought the news was a joke before realizing Trump had indeed named Gaetz to serve as the nation's chief law officer.
GOP Rep. Max Miller told reporters the shock in the room was more a reflection of members' happiness that the Florida Republican will no longer be a member of the chamber after years of instigating intraparty battles.
Even Trump’s allies in the Senate were keeping their distance.
“We’ll see,” said Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin when asked whether he would vote to confirm the congressman.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, suggested that the Senate would look closely into Gaetz, including the House Ethics Committee investigation.
“I’m sure it will make for a popcorn-eating confirmation hearing,” said GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who serves on the committee that will take up the Gaetz nomination, said it would be "the first test of whether Republicans are willing to stand up to Donald Trump and go with conscience and conviction as opposed to just politics.”
The announcement came shortly after Trump confirmed that he had picked Rubio, a conservative lawmaker, as the nation’s top diplomat. A onetime critic who evolved into one of the president-elect’s fiercest defenders, Rubio is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump’s running mate this summer. He would be the first Latino in the job if confirmed.
On Capitol Hill, Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has pushed for taking a harder line against China and has targeted social media app TikTok because its parent company is Chinese. He and other lawmakers contend that Beijing could demand access to the data of users whenever it wants.
“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement.
Trump made the personnel announcements while flying back to Florida from Washington after meeting with President Joe Biden.
The president-elect had been expected to pick Rubio for the post, but had also faced pressure from people pushing Ric Grenell, who served as acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first administration.
Grenell responded to the news on on X, writing, “Congratulations, Senator. You will be great for America!”
The selection is the culmination of a long, complicated history between Trump and Rubio. During their tense competition for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, Rubio was especially blunt in his criticism of Trump, calling him a “con artist” and “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency.”
He tried to match Trump’s often-crude attacks by joking about the size of Trump’s hands in a reference to his manhood. Trump responded by branding Rubio as “little Marco,” a nickname that stuck with the senator for years.
But like many Republicans who sought to maintain their relevance in the Trump era, Rubio shifted his rhetoric. As speculation intensified that Trump might pick him as his running mate, Rubio sought to play down the tension from 2016, suggesting the heated tone simply reflected the intensity of a campaign.
“That is like asking a boxer why they punched somebody in the face in the third round,” Rubio told CNN when asked about his previous comments. “It’s because they were boxing.”
Rubio was first elected to the Senate in 2010 as part of the tea party wave of Republicans who swept into Washington. He quickly gained a reputation as someone who could embody a more diverse, welcoming Republican Party. He was a key member of a group that worked on a 2013 immigration bill that included a path to citizenship for millions of people in the country illegally.
But that legislation stalled in the House, where more conservative Republicans were in control, signaling the sharp turn to the right that the party — and Rubio — would soon embrace. Now, Rubio says he supports Trump’s plan to deploy the U.S. military to deport those in the country illegally.
“We are going to have to do something, unfortunately, we’re going to have to do something dramatic,” Rubio said in a May interview with NBC.
Gabbard, meanwhile, will serve as director of national intelligence. Both Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. had been advocating for her to get a position in the administration, after she grew close with them during the campaign.
She helped prepare Trump for his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, announced she was becoming a Republican at a Trump rally during the race’s final stretch, and received huge cheers from his crowds at events.
Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider, compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions.
Gabbard hasn’t worked directly in the intelligence community, outside of House committees, including two years on the Homeland Security Committee. Like others Trump has selected for his agency leadership, she has been among his most popular political surrogates, often drawing thunderous responses from crowds as she stumped for him in the campaign’s closing months.
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Colvin reported from New York and Miller reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Stephen Groves, Farnoush Amiri, Eric Tucker and Kevin Freking contributed to this report from Washington.