Why Matt Gaetz is not qualified to be U.S. attorney general

OPINION:

President-elect Donald Trump has quickly named many good choices to serve in his Cabinet. But Matt Gaetz is not one of them.

The nomination of Mr. Gaetz as attorney general is shocking and disappointing to those who have followed this man and the serious allegations that follow him. Based on his lack of legal experience and other personal concerns, Mr. Gaetz has neither the experience nor the moral character to serve as the chief law enforcement officer in the federal government.

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Professionally, Mr. Gaetz graduated from law school in 2007, and briefly worked for a law firm in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2010. He served in that role until 2016 and was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2017.

Mr. Gaetz’s minimal experience in the practice of law is hardly enough to serve as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.

Morally, Mr. Gaetz has faced a cloud of allegations. On Wednesday, as soon as he was tapped by Mr. Trump, Mr. Gaetz resigned from Congress, thus ending the ethics probe into alleged sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts. His immediate resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives raises concerns as it occurred just two days before the U.S. House Ethics Committee was reportedly scheduled to vote to release their report.

Mr. Gaetz has denied allegations against him. A Justice Department investigation in a sex trafficking case against Mr. Gaetz concluded in 2023, and he was not charged with any crime.

Other allegations involving Mr. Gaetz include concerning text messages and attending “drug-fueled sex parties,” and other related matters.

Adding to this, when Mr. Gaetz served in the Florida House, he was often an opponent of pro-family leaders and policies and worked with LGBTQ activists for the removal of Florida’s law prohibiting same-sex adoptions.

For these reasons and more, Mr. Gaetz will face tough questions during any confirmation hearing and will likely not be confirmed.

We need an attorney general who will free imprisoned pro-lifers and Jan. 6 political prisoners, slash bureaucracy, restore law and order, and end the Justice Department’s politicization and weaponization.

The candidate for attorney general must be of utmost integrity and someone who is beyond reproach — Matt Gaetz is clearly not an exemplar for the job. While no one is perfect, there are many qualified and honorable men and women who would fulfill this role superbly.   

While I enthusiastically support Mr. Trump’s efforts to restore American greatness and reverse the damage of the Biden-Harris administration, these concerns make it obvious Mr. Gaetz is not the ideal candidate to serve as attorney general in the Trump-Vance administration.

It’s important to support principles and policies over personality and politics.

Mr. Gaetz should do Mr. Trump and all of America a favor and withdraw his name from consideration. This will save him considerable embarrassment. Our country deserves better.

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Mat Staver is founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, chairman of Liberty Counsel Action, Faith and Liberty, Christians in Defense of Israel, Covenant Journey and Covenant Journey Academy. He has more than 350 legal opinions, authored eight scholarly law review publications, and many articles and books.

Mat has argued in many federal and state courts, including three landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, which includes a 9-0 precedent-setting victory in Shurtleff v. City of Boston. This case unanimously rejected the 1971 Supreme Court opinion of Lemon v. Kurtzman which did incredible damage to the First Amendment for 51-years.

Mat hosts two daily radio programs, “Freedom’s Call” and “Faith and Freedom,” as well as a weekly television program, “Freedom Alive.”