Siding with Donald Trump has obvious political advantages. His sweeping victory in the election helped carry Republicans to a majority in the Senate and preserved their majority in the House of Representatives.
In West Virginia, Trump received 70 percent of the vote, and that contributed to down ballot success for every other Republican in state races. However, being on the Trump team also carries with it political risk.
Take Trump’s choice of Matt Gaetz of Florida to be the Attorney General.
Gaetz’s immediate resignation from the House of Representatives quashes the pending release of an ethics committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, receiving improper gifts, dispensing special privileges and favors to individuals and obstructing government investigations.
The conservative Wall Street Journal called Gaetz a bad choice. “The U.S. Attorney General has to make calls on countless difficult questions of whom to investigate and indict,” said the Journal editorial. “Mr. Gaetz decisions simply wouldn’t be trusted. He’s a nominee for those who want the law to be used for political revenge and it won’t end well.”
The nomination puts West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito in an awkward position. She supports Trump and she believes he has a legitimate complaint about politicization of the Justice Department. But it is hard to imagine Capito, who is now the fourth ranking member of the new Senate majority, signing off on such a deeply flawed nominee.
When our Brad McElhinny asked Capito her position during a press availability Thursday, she gave a cautious answer. “Obviously the President feels strongly that he wants to shake it (Justice Department) up, but we’re a long way from having the committees actually move forward to have testimony, to gather information, and so once we get to that point, I think I’ll have a little bit clearer explanation,” she said.
The President can appoint whomever he wants, but that is only the beginning of the process. Article Two, Section Two of the U.S. Constitution gives the Senate the power to provide “advice and consent” on nominations. The Framers put that provision in the Constitution as a way of sharing power.
Capito and other moderate Republicans in the Senate know by now that a ride on the Trump train is not free. The cost comes in the form of loyalty tests like the Gaetz nomination. But Senators swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution,” not swear fealty to the President.
There is lots of speculation about Trump’s motivation in naming Gaetz, but all that really matters is that Gaetz is, as the Journal said, “a performer and a provocateur” who is uniquely unqualified to lead the Department of Justice.