WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump‘s choice Representative Matt Gaetz as future attorney general It has left many Justice Department officials in a state of shock after an already tumultuous eight days since the election.

Reaction from Republicans on Capitol Hill also ranged from shock to support.

Some of the department’s nearly 110,000 career employees, who spoke to ABC News on condition of anonymity, described an atmosphere of fear over Gaetz potentially becoming head of the nation’s top law enforcement agency.

Some House Republicans meeting behind closed doors said there was an audible gasp in the room when they heard Trump pick Gaetz.

The Florida congresswoman, a staunch critic of the Justice Department, was recently the subject of an investigation into the crime of sex trafficking by the federal department she is now assigned to lead.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Wednesday night that Gaetz is resigning from Congress, effective immediately, to “start the clock” on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis calling a special election to fill his vacancy. Gaetz’s resignation will end the Ethics Committee’s investigation, which did not investigate members after they left Congress.

In the United States, the role of attorney general is chosen by the president, but his appointment is confirmed by the Senate.

“This can’t be true,” a Justice Department official told ABC News on Wednesday.

“There will be mass resignations if he is sworn in,” another official added.

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Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins was among those who said they were shocked, apparently referring to Trump’s demand that his nominees terminate recess appointments without Senate approval.

“This shows why the advice and consent process is so important, and I’m sure there will be many questions asked at his hearing,” Collins told reporters. “Of course, the president has the right to nominate whomever he wishes, but I’m sure many questions will arise.”

“I don’t think this is a serious candidacy for attorney general,” said Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial of his first term.

“We need a serious attorney general, and I look forward to the opportunity to consider one that is serious,” he said. “This wasn’t on my bingo card.”

Others at the Justice Department have expressed skepticism that Gaetz will ultimately be successful in winning Senate confirmation, based on the initial wave of backlash on Capitol Hill.

But they are concerned that Gaetz’s candidacy could be part of a broader effort to secure the endorsement of someone else who has not previously been widely accepted, an official told ABC News.

There’s a big debate going on right now in the minds of many career officials about whether Trump will remain at the Justice Department in his second administration.

Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing during the years-long investigation, and the Justice Department notified Gaetz in 2023 that it had declined to file criminal charges against him following the investigation.

But the Florida congressman still faces an ongoing investigation by the House Ethics Committee over the same allegations.

“It would certainly be concerning because it would be part of his file,” Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said when asked if the ethics investigation concerned him.

Rounds told reporters he had “no reaction yet” on whether Gaetz would be confirmed. Asked if he would vote to confirm, he said: “All I can really tell you right now is that normally we give the president the benefit of the doubt, but we’re still doing our due diligence and advice and consent still matter.”

Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, whom Trump announced earlier in the day as his choice for secretary of state, had complimentary words about his Florida friend.

“I have known him for a long time and again I think he has the right to join the president’s team and he has made his appointments,” he said. “And I like Matt very much. I know him very well, and I’m confident he’ll do a good job if the Senate confirms him. And again, presidents have the right to appoint whoever they want.” “These key positions will fulfill the mandate given to them by the voters of the United States.”

On the House side, Louisiana Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., expressed support for Trump’s pick.

Trump has been vocal about using the agency as a tool of revenge against his enemies. Some federal prosecutors fear Trump’s order could undo important institutional norms that have defined the Justice Department’s work since the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s.

Fears about Trump’s use of the Justice Department emerged amid recent warnings from attorney Mark Paoletta, a top adviser on Trump’s transition.

Paoletta warned on account

“I hope Justice Department lawyers will take responsibility for implementing President Trump’s agenda.” Paoletta wrote He added on Wednesday: “This is their constitutional duty.”

Current Attorney General Merrick Garland has yet to publicly comment on Trump’s selection of Gaetz.