Top 6 political reactions to Matt Gaetz's nomination as attorney general

By CP Staff, Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Mike Johnson: 'He will be a reformer'

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., expressed support for Gaetz and pushed back against calls for the House Ethics Committee to release their report about the former congressman.

"Look, Matt Gaetz is a colleague of mine. We’ve been serving together for more than eight years," Johnson told "Fox News Sunday" host Shannon Bream on Sunday. "He’s one of the brightest minds in Washington or anywhere for that matter, and he knows everything about how the Department of Justice has been weaponized and misused."

"And he will be a reformer. And I think that’s why the establishment in Washington is so shaken up about this pick," Johnson added.

During another Sunday interview, CNN host Jake Tapper attempted to grill Johnson about his Christian faith and how it lines up with Trump's most recent cabinet appointments.

"Take a step back, because you and I have known each other for a long time," Tapper told Johnson. "You’re a man of faith. You’re a man of God, you’re a man of family. With some of these nominees — Gaetz, Hegseth, RFK Jr. — I wonder, does it matter anymore for Republicans to think of leaders as people who are moral in their personal lives? Is that still important to the Republican Party?"

Gaetz, Hegseth and Kennedy have all faced accusations of sexual misconduct.

"I think what the American people have believed, and what they delivered with the mandate in this election, is demand that we shake up the status quo," Johnson responded. "It’s not working for the American people. So use the term in the opening about how these are disruptors. They are, I think that's by design."

Johnson also claimed he hasn't spoken with Trump about the ethics report.

Johnson told both Tapper and Fox News host Shannon Bream that releasing the ethics report over Gaetz after he has left Congress would "open a Pandora's box," since Gaetz is now a private citizen.