Gaetz is quietly lobbying Republican senators ‘to give him a shot’ as Trump’s attorney general

By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju and Annie Grayer, CNN

(CNN) — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz is quietly urging GOP senators to give him a chance to prove himself suitable to be attorney general amid growing calls from top Republicans to access a House Ethics Committee report expected to detail allegations of sexual misconduct involving the ex-congressman.

The GOP senator set to lead the Senate Judiciary Committee next year told CNN that having the House Ethics report would speed up the confirmation hearings, as Gaetz and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance head to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to try to lock down support for President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick. And Gaetz himself has been making calls to GOP senators and visiting his own loyalists in the House GOP.

The pressure is all building ahead of a planned Wednesday meeting of the House ethics panel, which is expected to discuss the fate of the report. If the panel does decide to vote on whether to publish the findings, it would take only one Republican to break with their party leadership for it to be released. But privately, Republicans on the panel are signaling that they could bury the report as Gaetz and Trump are making direct appeals.

Even though Gaetz is no longer a member of the House, his now-former colleagues are proceeding with extreme caution when it comes to the sensitive report into allegations of misconduct, including “sexual misconduct and illicit drug use” that could tank his future as Trump’s attorney general. Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including ever having sex with a minor or paying for sex.

With the fate of the panel’s report up in the air, GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, who will become Senate Judiciary chairman next Congress, told CNN that his panel would make it easier to move ahead with confirmation hearings quickly in the new year if the Ethics Committee were to release its report, given the interest from Republicans in seeing it. That’s a key signal that the Senate GOP may pursue the potentially damaging information against Gaetz even as pressure intensifies on Capitol Hill from Trump and Gaetz himself to proceed with the confirmation.

“I think that if they want a speedy consideration of this nomination … we’ve got to have as much transparency as we can have,” Grassley said. “You’ve heard my colleagues, especially on the Republican side, say that they have some questions … and I think it would help faster consideration, the extent to which they would make as much available as they can.”

Grassley declined to say if he has spoken with Gaetz or Trump about the nomination.

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, is expected to be among the senators with whom Gaetz and Vance meet during their trip to the Hill on Wednesday. Vance is also expected to bring some of Trump’s other cabinet picks to meet with senators, including former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who is slated to run the Department of Defense; Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick to serve as the ambassador to the United Nations; and Rep. Doug Collins, whom Trump has selected to serve as secretary of Veterans Affairs, three sources familiar with the plans told CNN.

Gaetz has been making calls to GOP senators — including Sen. Lindsey Graham, the current top Republican on Judiciary — and his former House colleagues, visiting the House Freedom Caucus in a private meeting Monday night. In a call last week to GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, Gaetz urged him “to give him a shot,” Hawley told CNN. The Missouri Republican said he wants to let Gaetz address the allegations at his confirmation hearing next year. Hawley, who sits on the Senate Judiciary panel, also wouldn’t say if he wanted to see the House Ethics report on Gaetz, contending he expected the information to leak one way or the other.

Yet House Republicans and Democrats alike — including some with the power to seriously hinder his nomination as attorney general by releasing a potentially explosive Ethics report — are signaling they have no interest in crossing the lightning rod figure who could become Trump’s top law enforcement official. They see Gaetz as someone with a powerful perch who could make life miserable for anyone who goes against him — whether he holds the title of attorney general or not.

That includes GOP Rep. Mike Simpson, a famously outspoken Gaetz antagonist. When asked how Gaetz would lead the department, the senior Republican paused before looking to his spokeswoman.

“Should I say it?” Simpson said with a chuckle, turning to her. “I think no comment is a great comment,” his spokeswoman said. Pressed on the matter, Simpson added: “Put it this way, if I was in the Senate, I would want to see the report.”

And even House Armed Services Chairman, who lunged at Gaetz on the House floor when he first tried to block Kevin McCarthy from becoming speaker, downplayed their tense history.

“Matt and I got along fine. He’s on my committee. We worked together for years. I disagreed with him that day, but absolutely no, we’ve been fine ever since then.”

But when asked if Gaetz should become attorney general, Rogers said, “that’s the president’s call.”

Republicans and Democrats across the Capitol describe Gaetz as someone who is carefully calculated and always operating five or 10 steps ahead of those around him. They believe that, like Trump, he keeps an enemies list. Even members who said they weren’t wary of retribution from Gaetz wouldn’t respond, even without their names attached, if they believed he was qualified.

“Anybody who thinks they can predict or forecast what Gaetz is going to do doesn’t know Gaetz,” one GOP lawmaker who has worked with him for years said. Asked if Gaetz could use the office to seek retribution of his enemies, this member said: “One would be right to say, ‘Oh my God, is he’s going to be doing that?’ Because that’s his style.”

Rep. Tim Burchett, who is a close ally of Gaetz, said he’s noticed that some members have been more critical since the Florida congressman left the House.

“I see some people taking shots at him now because he’s not here. But they didn’t do that when they were standing here next to him,” he said, adding: “He is incredibly calculated.”

Democrats on the panel also have access to the report. But so far, those lawmakers are also proceeding extremely carefully with the information.

“I really think they should have a chance to look at the evidence and make a decision for themselves,” Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland told reporters, arguing it is essential to the Senate’s “advise and consent” role.

Asked if he had read the report, which is now available for members, Ivey said he would “not really get into particulars.”

“It’s available. The key point is that the Senate should have a chance to look at it, not us,” he said.

Meanwhile, nearly 100 House Democrats are calling on the House Ethics Committee to “immediately” release the report.

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