WASHINGTON 鈥 Donald Trump has had few defenders in Congress as reliable as Matt Gaetz, who emphatically amplified the Republican's rallying cry that the criminal investigations into the president-elect are "witch hunts."
That kinship was rewarded Wednesday when Trump named Gaetz as his pick for attorney general, turning to a conservative loyalist in place of more established lawyers who were seen as contenders.
In announcing his selection of Gaetz as attorney general and John Ratcliffe a day earlier as CIA director, Trump underscored the premium he places on loyalty, citing both men's support for him during the Russia investigation as central to their qualifications and signaling his expectation that leaders in his administration should function not only as a president's protector but also as an instrument of retribution.
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The dynamic matters at a time when Trump, who will enter office in the wake of two federal indictments expected to soon evaporate and a Supreme Court opinion blessing a president's exclusive authority over the Justice Department, threatened to pursue retaliation against perceived adversaries.
The rhetoric from Trump reflects an about-face in approach from President Joe Biden, who repeatedly took a hands-off approach from the Justice Department even while facing a special counsel investigation into his handling of classified information and as his son, Hunter, was indicted on tax and gun charges.
Democrats immediately sounded the alarm, with Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying Gaetz "would be a disaster" in part because of Trump's threat to use the Justice Department "to seek revenge on his political enemies."
The president of Common Cause, a good government group, called the selection "shocking" and "a serious threat to the fair and equal enforcement of the law in our nation." Several Senate Republicans even expressed concern about the Gaetz pick.
That Trump would openly value Gaetz's role in "defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization" is not altogether surprising.
In his first term, Trump fired an FBI director who refused to pledge loyalty to him at a private White House dinner and an attorney general who recused himself from the Justice Department's investigation into potential ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign.
"I think this selection indicates that President-elect Trump was looking for an attorney general whose views were closely aligned with him with respect to the appropriate role of the Department of Justice," said former federal prosecutor Robert Mintz.
Ratcliffe, who served as Trump's director of national intelligence in the final months of his first term, rose to prominence on Capitol Hill as a staunch defender of Trump.
He was a member of Trump's advisory team during his first impeachment in 2019 and pointedly grilled witnesses about the Russia investigation 鈥 including an FBI agent who led the inquiry and also traded anti-Trump text messages with a colleague.
That work was credited by Trump in his selection announcement as he praised Ratcliffe for "exposing fake Russian collusion" and having "been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public."
Gaetz would be the first attorney general in 20 years without prior Justice Department experience, and in recent years became embroiled himself in a federal sex trafficking investigation that ended without criminal charges.
Hours before the announcement, Gaetz said in a social media post that there needs to be a "full court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people." He added: "And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I'm ready to get going!" If confirmed as attorney general, he would oversee both the FBI and the ATF.
Gaetz has used the seat in Congress he first won in 2016 to rail against the Justice Department, repeatedly decrying what he 鈥 and Trump 鈥 contends is a criminal justice system biased against conservatives. He blasted law enforcement officials he perceived as being either overtly anti-Trump or ineffective in protecting Trump's interests.
When Robert Mueller visited Capitol Hill to discuss the findings of the Russia investigation, Gaetz condemned the prosecutor for leading a team that the congressman said was "so biased."
The Trump Justice Department appointed a special prosecutor, John Durham, to examine errors in the Russia investigation, but Gaetz scolded Durham too for failing to uncover enough damaging information about the FBI's inquiry into Trump.
Gaetz聽directed outright fury at FBI Director Christopher Wray, snapping at him last year that FBI applicants in Florida "deserve better than you" and at the current attorney general, Merrick Garland, who appointed special counsel Jack Smith to investigate Trump's hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Both investigations ended in indictments expected to wind down before Trump takes office. Smith, too, is also likely to be gone by the time Gaetz arrives, and a new FBI director is also expected to be appointed聽 given Trump's lingering discontent with Wray, his own appointee.
Here are people Trump picked for key positions
Pam Bondi, Attorney General
Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration.
She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump鈥檚 legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020.
Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute.
Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him.
Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary
Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction.
He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation鈥檚 first openly gay treasury secretary.
He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump鈥檚 campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending.
鈥淭his election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,鈥 he said then.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Secretary
Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district.
As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department鈥檚 workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers鈥 wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer鈥檚 rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities.
Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the 鈥淧rotecting the Right to Organize鈥 or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers鈥 rights. The act would also weaken 鈥渞ight-to-work鈥 laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment.
Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development
Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump鈥檚 first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he鈥檚 yet selected for his administration, with 鈥渉elping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country鈥檚 most distressed communities.鈥
Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture
President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins聽to be his agriculture secretary.
Kash Patel, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director
Kash聽Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration鈥檚 attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe.
Patel called for dramatically reducing the agency鈥檚 footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who sought additional resources for the bureau. Though the Justice Department in 2021聽聽during leak investigations, Patel said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters.
Paul Atkins, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission
Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a 鈥減roven leader for common sense regulations.鈥 In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation.
鈥淗e believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,鈥 Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government鈥檚 crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated 鈥 Jan. 20, 2025.
Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt.
Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator
Jared聽Isaacman, 41, is a聽聽who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk鈥檚 SpaceX and conducted the聽. He is the founder and CEO of a card-processing company and has collaborated closely with Musk ever since buying his first chartered SpaceX flight. He took contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX鈥檚 new spacewalking suits.
David Perdue, Ambassador to China
President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China, saying in a social media post that the former CEO 鈥渂rings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.鈥澛
聽four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.聽Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for governor.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Ambassador to Greece
Guilfoyle is a former California prosecutor and television news personality who led the fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign and became engaged to Don Jr. in 2020. Trump called her 鈥渁 close friend and ally鈥 and praised her 鈥渟harp intellect make her supremely qualified.鈥 Guilfoyle was on stage with the family on election night.
鈥淚 am so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she always has wanted to serve the country as an Ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America First,鈥 Don Jr. posted.
The ambassador positions must be approved by the U.S. Senate.
Guilfoyle said in a social media post that she was 鈥渉onored to accept President Trump鈥檚 nomination to serve as the next Ambassador to Greece and I look forward to earning the support of the U.S. Senate.鈥
Keith Kellogg, Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia
Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump鈥檚 top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence.
For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that 鈥渂ringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.鈥
(AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Rodney Scott, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner
Customs and Border Protection, with its roughly 60,000 employees, falls under the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the Border Patrol, which Rodney Scott led during Trump's first term, and is essentially responsible for protecting the country's borders while facilitating trade and travel.
Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. He became an agent in 1992 and spent much of his career in San Diego. When he was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020, he enthusiastically embraced Trump's policies.
After being forced out under the Biden administration, Scott has been a vocal supporter of Trump's hard-line immigration agenda. He appeared frequently on Fox News and testified in Congress. He's also a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Billy Long, Internal Revenue Service commissioner
Former Rep. Billy Long represented Missouri in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023. Since leaving Congress, Trump said, Long 鈥渉as worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.鈥
Kelly Loeffler, Small Business Administration administrator
Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed in January 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and then lost a runoff election a year later. She started a conservative voter registration organization and dived into GOP fundraising, becoming one of the top individual donors and bundlers to Trump鈥檚 2024 comeback campaign.
Even before nominating her for agriculture secretary, the president-elect already had tapped Loeffler as co-chair of his inaugural committee.
Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget
Russell Vought held the position during Trump鈥檚 first presidency.
After Trump鈥檚 initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as 鈥渞enew a consensus of America as a nation under God.鈥
Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump鈥檚 second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign.
Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Kari Lake, Voice of America
Trump says he鈥檚 picking Kari Lake as director of Voice of America, installing a staunch loyalist who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor and a Senate seat to head the congressionally funded broadcaster that provides independent news reporting around the world.聽
Lake endeared herself to Trump through her dogmatic commitment to the falsehood that both she and Trump were the victims of election fraud. She has never acknowledged losing the gubernatorial race and called herself the 鈥渓awful governor鈥 in her 2023 book, 鈥淯nafraid: Just Getting Started.鈥
