Matt Gaetz, fervent Trump supporter propelled to the top of the federal justice system

Photo: Andrew Caballero Agence France-Presse Republican Matt Gaetz during a speech in Florida

Sébastien Blanc – Agence France-Presse in Washington

Posted at 6:49 a.m.

• United States

He is undoubtedly one of the most divisive and criticized elected officials in Congress for facts that are not public affairs: Republican Matt Gaetz was nevertheless chosen by Donald Trump to become attorney general, a key position rewarding his loyalty.

At only 42 years old, this elected official from Florida, regularly classified as far right, will exercise a predominant influence in the executive of rupture that the winner of the presidential election is currently putting in place.

His nomination on Wednesday, announced directly by Donald Trump on his Truth Social network, caused an explosion as the man is hated by Democrats and even part of his own camp.

In any case, his mission is already clearly set, by this same lapidary message: to put an end to the “instrumentalization” of the judicial system by the Democrats.

He will become the armed wing of Donald Trump’s revenge, who has claimed to be the victim for years of a “witch hunt” orchestrated by a political justice system.

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Notoriety Leap

Until recently, Matt Gaetz was relatively unknown to the general public, at least for his parliamentary work.

His notoriety changed dimension in October 2023, when he managed to bring down the then Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.

Matt Gaetz had been the one who had filed the motion of censure that allowed the impeachment of the “Speaker”. An unprecedented political event on Capitol Hill.

To pull off this resounding coup, Matt Gaetz had rallied a small number of representatives from the most radical fringe of the Republican Party, like him.

It must be said that, on the political level, being opposed to the right to abortion, openly climate skeptical, defender of the gun lobby, propagator of the conspiracy theory of the great replacement, Matt Gaetz espouses practically all the positions of the most extreme American right.

Before this episode in the House, the name of Matt Gaetz has often been associated with unflattering affairs, or even worse. He was accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage girl, an allegation he denied, saying he was a victim of the establishment.

A defense that the forty-year-old with his neat suits, Hollywood actor's smile and always impeccably coiffed locks of hair has often resorted to.

A heavy past

“I am the most investigated man in the United States Congress,” the fiery representative once declared, a phrase directly inspired by the rhetoric of Donald Trump, one of whose most loyal lieutenants he is.

He had previously posted on social media a photo montage of his skull surrounded by about fifteen firearms.

It should be noted that Matt Gaetz has other mentions to his credit.

He has been accused of possible misappropriation of public funds, facts that have triggered an investigation by the House of Representatives Ethics Committee. And then there is illegal drug use, drunk driving or other abuses incompatible with the probity normally expected of a member of Congress.

Yet, as head of the Justice Department—a sprawling super-ministry—he will oversee the FBI, federal prosecutors, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the prison service, the Marshals Service responsible for tracking down fugitives, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

On a lighter note, this son of a politician who presided over the Florida Senate lived in his youth in the house that served as the set for the film “The Truman Show,” directed by Peter Weir and released in 1998 with Jim Carrey in the lead role.