Allegations that Rep. Matt Gaetz had sexual relations with underage girls have resurfaced after Donald Trump announced the Florida representative as his pick for Attorney General.
Senator Markwayne Mullin criticized Gaetz earlier this year for showing images of girls he “slept with” to his colleagues in the US House of Representatives.
The Oklahoma senator now tells CNN he is confident in Trump’s decision to pick Gaetz to join his Cabinet.
But he warned Geatz about the questions he will face during the Senate confirmation hearings.
While Republicans regained control of the Senate in the 2024 elections, Gaetz is controversial even among members of his own party.
Trump announced Wednesday that he will nominate Florida Rep. Gaetz to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Rep. Matt Gaetz is likely to face an uphill battle to receive Senate confirmation to become Donald Trump’s Attorney General, considering his controversy even among Republicans in the upper chamber.
Mullin said Gaetz was “seeking fame” when he initiated the motion to impeach House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year because the media “didn’t give him the time of day” after allegations of inappropriate relationships surfaced.
Gaetz says it’s a lie that he was showing his Republican colleagues in Congress the women he had sex with.
After an investigation, the Department of Justice never accused the Florida legislator of sex trafficking or having sexual relations with minors.
‘This is a guy who the media didn’t even give him the time after he was accused of sleeping with an underage girl. And there was a reason why no one at the conference came to defend him because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor… of the girls he had slept with,” Mullin told CNN earlier this year.
“He bragged about how he crushed ED medications and combined them with an energy drink to get him through the night,” Mullin explained. ‘This was obviously before he got married. So, when that accusation came out, no one defended him.”
“Suddenly he became famous because in November he opposed the president of the House,” he concluded.
Trump announced Wednesday that he will nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz to lead his Justice Department as Attorney General.
Video resurfaced Wednesday of Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma claiming earlier this year that Gaetz showed the girls he had sex with to members of Congress in the House chamber.
Gaetz is a hardline pro-Trump lawmaker and has been one of the former (and now future) president’s most vocal supporters. He is a controversial figure among Democrats and Republicans.
Democratic Rep. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who praised Trump for some of his other picks for his Cabinet and the 2025 White House, spoke out against Gaetz’s selection as Attorney General.
‘There have been serious and qualified people nominated for positions, like Rubio or Stefanik. “Eric Schmitt would be a solid choice for AG,” Fetterman wrote.
“But Democratic views on Gaetz aren’t that interesting,” he continued. “The good news will come from my Republican colleagues to justify a vote for that moron.”
Fetterman’s X post noted that Republicans also have a lot of opposition to Gaetz. But it will remain to be seen next year whether members of the Republican Party will officially vote against Trump’s nomination.
Democratic Senator John Fetterman said there are many Republicans who will oppose Gaetz’s selection as Attorney General.
“Matt Gaetz and I, there’s no question we’ve had our differences,” Mullin said after Trump’s announcement Wednesday. “They’ve been very public about it.”
He noted: “I completely trust President Trump’s decision-making in this case.”
“But at the same time he has to come to the Senate and sell himself,” Mullin responded. ‘There will be many questions that will arise. He has to answer those questions. And hopefully you’ll be able to answer the questions correctly.’
“If you can, we will go through the confirmation process.”
Trump said he chose Gaetz, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, after he emerged as an outspoken critic of the agency his panel oversaw and called for serious reforms.
“Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan militarization of our justice system,” Trump wrote of Gaetz’s selection. “Matt will end armed government, secure our borders, dismantle criminal organizations, and restore Americans’ severely shattered faith and trust in the Department of Justice.”