No GOP Senators Have Been Bold Enough To Outright Oppose Gaetz For AG
INSIDE: Donald Trump ... Kash Patel ... Tulsi Gabbard
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Trump’s Win-Win On Gaetz
The way Donald Trump sees it, his demand that Senate Republicans either humiliate themselves by confirming his abominable choice of Matt Gaetz for attorney general or walk the plank in rejecting the nomination is a win-win either way.
Trump has been telling confidants that he thinks Gaetz’s prospects of Senate confirmation are less than 50-50, the NYT reports, but he’s pushing ahead with the nomination anyway for strategic reasons: “He is making calls on Mr. Gaetz’s behalf, and he remains confident that even if Mr. Gaetz does not make it, the standard for an acceptable candidate will have shifted so much that the Senate may simply approve his other nominees who have appalled much of Washington.”
While some GOP senators are privately urging Trump to ditch Gaetz, many of them continue to demur on the nomination in public, with none of them being bold enough to publicly oppose it outright yet. Many Senate Republicans are taking the posture of a supplicant toward Trump: Please don’t do this to us.
“Numerous GOP members have indicated to Trump and his team that they believe Gaetz has little chance of being confirmed, according to multiple Senate Republican and Trump world sources,” Playbook reported. “And they’re privately hoping Trump doesn’t make them walk the plank.”
The unreleased House Ethics Committee report on Gaetz allegedly having sex with a minor and using illicit drugs remains the wild card that could tip the nomination.
The Gory Details
Joel Leppard, a lawyer representing two women who told the House Ethics Committee that then-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) paid them for sex, made the media rounds yesterday:
“A woman testified to the House Ethics Committee that former congressman Matt Gaetz paid her for sex and that she witnessed President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general having sex with a 17-year-old at a party, her lawyer said over the weekend.”–WaPo
“Two women testified to the House Ethics Committee that they were paid for “sexual favors” by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, a lawyer for the two women told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday.”–CNN
“Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, allegedly paid for two women in 2019 to travel to New York to have sex, watch his appearance on Fox News, and attend the Broadway show ‘Pretty Woman,’ an attorney for the women told ABC News.” –ABC News
Trump Is Receiving Intel Briefings Again
“President-elect Donald Trump, the only former president to have been charged with mishandling classified information, has begun receiving intelligence briefings, U.S. officials said.”–WaPo
Trump Re-Ups Threat To Use Military Domestically
“President-elect Donald J. Trump confirmed on Monday that he intended to declare a national emergency and use the U.S. military in some form to assist in his plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.”–NYT
“Using the military domestically — absent any crisis remotely needed to prompt or justify such a move — would break with centuries of practice in the United States, giving a President who has promised to deploy troops against the ‘enemy from within’ the most powerful, and potentially unconstrained, tool in the federal arsenal.”–TPM’s Josh Kovensky
“Such a sprawling campaign – and the use of military personnel to carry it out – is almost certain to draw legal challenges and pushback from Democratic leaders, some of whom have already said they would refuse to cooperate with Trump’s deportation agenda.”–The Guardian
The Trump II Clown Show
FBI: If Trump corruptly fires FBI Director Chris Wray, the leading contenders for the post are MAGA minion Kash Patel and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI).
DNI: How Tulsi Gabbard Became a Favorite of Russia’s State Media–NYT
DOT: Trump picks realty TV star turned congressman turned Fox Business host Sean Duffy for Transportation secretary.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“To be as clear as I can be, the second Trump administration with Elon Musk embedded within it represents the most direct and sustained threat to the First Amendment and the freedom of the press any of us will ever experience.”–Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge
The Grift
WaPo: Trump tried to limit financial conflicts in 2017. This time could be different.
WSJ: Donald Trump Jr. Goes All-In on the Anti-Woke Economy
For Your Radar …
New York: “Manhattan prosecutors face a Tuesday deadline to tell a judge how they want to proceed with Donald Trump’s 34-felony convictions hush money case now that he is the president-elect.”–WaPo
Texas: “Education officials are expected to vote this week on whether to approve a new elementary-school curriculum that infuses teachings on the Bible into reading and language arts lessons.”–NYT
DC: “House Ethics Committee members are set to meet privately Wednesday as debate rages over whether the panel should release its report on its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz.”–Politico
PA-Sen: Court Ruling Hobbles Casey’s Already-Slim Chances
“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that election officials must abide by an earlier decision and stop counting mail-in ballots that were invalidated because of an incorrect date on the outer envelope — a major victory for Republican Senate candidate David McCormick, who holds a narrow lead over Democratic Sen. Bob Casey ahead of a statewide recount.”–WaPo
An Abortion Rights Win In Wyoming
“A state judge on Monday struck down Wyoming’s overall ban on abortion and its first-in-the-nation explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy.”–CNN
Just Mean
With Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE) set to become the first openly transgender member of Congress, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) plans to introduce a resolution banning transgender women from women’s bathrooms in the Capitol. “Asked if she planned to talk to McBride, Mace said: ‘No, Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say,'” Politico reported.
DOJ To Strike At Core Of Google Monopoly
“Top Justice Department antitrust officials have decided to ask a judge to force Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell off its Chrome browser in what would be a historic crackdown on one of the world’s biggest tech companies.”–Bloomberg
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Appreciate you reporting all this out, David. I know it has to be as terrible to type it as it is to read.
Thanks, David, for this horrifying news - I'm glad you are putting it out here for those of us to get it - I hope your readership expands! I'll encourage people to subscribe!