• Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz for US Attorney General is a controversial choice.
• Gaetz’s appointment would need Senate confirmation, which could be difficult to secure.
• GOP lawmakers loyal to the president-elect are already dunking on Gaetz.

Among a number of remarkable events cabinet picksPerhaps no option has attracted more attention than President-elect Donald Trump’s decision. Nominate GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as the next U.S. Attorney General.

Gaetz is a polarizing figure, Even within the Republican Party.

His appointment would require Senate confirmation, and although Republicans have a majority in the Senate, many GOP lawmakers have already signaled they are less than happy with the controversial choice.

Other candidates, such as the former Democratic congressman Tulsi Gabbard For Director of National Intelligence and Fox News host Pete Hegseth For Secretary of Defense — eyebrow-raising — Gaetz stands out as the only candidate Republicans appear willing to criticize.

Gaetz has been exposed before sex trafficking allegationsThe incident came to light after the Ministry of Justice launched an investigation against him in April 2021.

Although the agency ultimately declined to pursue criminal charges, Gaetz until recently Reviewed by the House Ethics Committee. But his sudden resignation from the House after his nomination on Wednesday means the committee no longer has the authority to investigate him. According to the New York Times.

Gaetz further complicates his support among Republicans. Led to Kevin McCarthy’s dismissal His election as Speaker of the House of Representatives last year was a move that caused serious friction within the party.

Even some Trump loyalists expressed surprise at Gaetz’s candidacy.

Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin

mullin A staunch Trump supporter who supports his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, and even rumor as a potential cabinet choice.

But that didn’t stop him from being less than fully supportive of the Gaetz candidacy.

appeared on CNN, said: “There’s no question that Matt Gaetz and I have our differences.”

While Mullin expressed confidence in “Trump’s decision-making on this issue,” he said Gaetz should present his case in the Senate.

“There are a lot of questions to be asked,” he told CNN. “He needs to answer those questions, and hopefully he can answer those questions correctly, and if he can, we will go through the approval process.”

These differences Mullin’s comments to CNN last year: Around the same time that Gaetz introduced a motion to oust McCarthy.

“There’s a reason why no one in Congress has come to defend Gaetz” in the wake of sex trafficking allegations, Mullin said.

He claimed Gaetz would brag about his sexual escapades on the House floor.

Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota

Cramer, A staunch supporter of Trump since supporting him early in the 2016 campaign, he expressed surprise at Gaetz’s candidacy.

According to the Washington Examiner’s Ramsey Touchberry, Cramer was surprised by Gaetz’s selection.

“That’s a phew,” Cramer said. According to Touchberry’s X post. “Uhh, I don’t know what to do with this.”

The Minnesota Monthly newspaper defines “uff da” as “exhaustion, frustration, confusion, bewilderment, and mild disgust.”

Answer to questions CBS News correspondent Cristina Corujo Cramer said Gaetz’s candidacy was a “surprise” and an “interesting choice.”

He also said he didn’t know Gaetz very well and thought he had the academic credentials, but was “concerned about how he handled the dispute with Speaker McCarthy.” “I thought it was unnecessary, I thought it was divisive.”

Texas Senator John Cornyn

Cornyn, Another trusted Trump ally also appeared shocked by Gaetz’s selection.

According to Punchbowl News reporter Samantha Handler, he gave an “audible grunt” when asked.

Alex Bolton, staff writer for The Hill, said in an X post When asked about Gaetz, Cornyn had a “surprised or shocked look” on his face, “as if he had tasted something strange.”

Cornyn he told HuffPost reporter Arthur Delaney: “I don’t know this man other than his general personality.”

According to Max CohenCornyn, another Punchbowl News reporter, was asked about Gaetz’s status as the subject of the House Ethics investigation.

“Well, that might come up,” Cornyn told reporters.

Ohio Representative Max Miller

Although he couldn’t vote for Gaetz, Miller had some choice words for his fellow Republican lawmaker.

Formerly GOP congressman praised Trump As “the greatest POTUS this country has ever had” he told CNN’s Haley Talbot He said Gaetz was “literally a worse man than the gum on the bottom of my shoe.”

According to TalbotMiller also accused Gaetz of ruining the country and said he “ran around here last term like a six-year-old with a loaded gun and a happy trigger finger.”