In response to Donald Trump tapping Matt Gaetz as his attorney general, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:

“Donald Trump doesn’t care about the rule of law, he only cares about the rule of Trump – that’s why he’s attempting to elevate an unqualified and unserious loyalist like Matt Gaetz to follow through on his dangerous plans for revenge and retribution. Gaetz’s closest connections to the Justice Department are being the subject of a federal criminal investigation and pushing to defund federal law enforcement. Trump chose Gaetz for one reason: He knows an unfit lackey like him would always put Trump ahead of our justice system and would enact Trump’s extreme and reckless agenda that would leave Americans less safe.”

🚨 BREAKING: Donald Trump just chose ultra-MAGA extremist Matt Gaetz as his attorney general because he knows Gaetz is a loyal “warrior” in his dangerous plans for revenge and retribution.

Meridith McGraw, Politico: “Trump names Matt Gaetz as his Attorney General”

Axios: “Gaetz will help lead the implementation of Trump’s agenda and steer any efforts to investigate — and prosecute — the president-elect’s enemies.”

CNN: “Gaetz’s antics have won him praise from Trump […]

“‘They are our warriors,’ Trump said of Gaetz and other House members at a September 2020 rally in Jupiter, Florida. […]”

Gaetz wants to defund federal law enforcement, calling to abolish agencies like the FBI.

NBC News: “An unburdened Rep. Gaetz calls for abolishing the FBI, CDC, ATF”

“Minutes later, Gaetz, now serving on the select committee investigating the so-called weaponization of the federal government, suggested eliminating federal investigative agencies.

“‘I don’t care if it takes every second of our time and every ounce of our energy, we either get this government back on our side or we defund, get rid of, abolish the FBI CDC, ATF,’ Gaetz said to applause.”

USA Today: “At CPAC, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz calls for abolishing FBI, CDC, other federal agencies”

Newsweek: “Matt Gaetz Tweets ‘Defund The FBI’ Then Deletes It Amid FBI Probe”

Washington Examiner: “White House says Republicans want to defund law enforcement”

“Some Republicans, such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), have called to abolish the FBI and Justice Department altogether.”

Daily Beast: “Gaetz and MTG Are Suddenly in Support of the ‘Defund’ Movement”

Gaetz has facedis currently facing numerous investigations over allegations of sexual misconduct, soliciting a minor for sex, and illicit drug use.

New York Times: “Matt Gaetz Is Said to Face Justice Dept. Inquiry Over Sex With an Underage Girl”

Associated Press: “Ethics probe into Matt Gaetz now reviewing allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use”

Politico: “Gaetz says he will no longer voluntarily cooperate with House Ethics probe”

USA Today: “Ethics Committee expands Matt Gaetz investigation as it looks into sexual misconduct, drug use allegations”

Politico: “House Ethics panel subpoenas DOJ for Gaetz records”

CNN: “House ethics probe of Gaetz seeks information from DOJ and woman who allegedly had sex with congressman as a minor”

ABC News: “Gaetz subpoenaed by woman he allegedly had sex with when she was a minor in defamation suit brought by friend”

ABC News: “Witness tells House Ethics Committee that Matt Gaetz paid her for sex: Sources”

Vanity Fair: “GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz Attended Drug-Heavy Sex Party With 17-Year-Old: Legal Docs”

The Guardian: “Matt Gaetz scandal deepens as associate admits paying 17-year-old for sex”

Gaetz is a loyal election denier who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election and backed a resolution to erase Trump’s role in January 6.

Florida Politics: “A dozen Republican members of Florida’s U.S. House Delegation ultimately voted against certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Nevertheless, the attempt to block the win hours after pro-Donald Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol failed.

“[M]ost of Florida’s Republican Representatives voted no on certifying slates of electors for both Arizona and Pennsylvania.

“Voting in favor of objections to both slates were … Matt Gaetz …”

Politico: “U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz will hold a press conference at 11:45 a.m. with 25 colleagues on a resolution ‘reaffirming “President Trump did not engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.”’ The resolution has 60 cosponsors.”

When Trump called his MAGA minions to provide emotional support while he was on trial, Gaetz said he was “standing back and standing by” — referencing Trump’s infamous call to the Proud Boys, whose leaders later violently attacked the Capitol on January 6.

The Independent: “Matt Gaetz invokes Trump’s infamous call to Proud Boys at trial: ‘Stand back and stand by’”

CBS News: “‘Stand back and stand by’: Trump declines to condemn white supremacists at debate”

Reuters: “Trump, asked if he would denounce white supremacists and militia groups during Tuesday night’s U.S. presidential debate, told the right-wing group the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and stand by.’”

Associated Press: “Trump to far-right extremists: ‘Stand back and stand by’”

CNN: “Trump’s debate callout bolsters far-right Proud Boys”

New York Times: “Proud Boys celebrate Trump’s ‘stand by’ remark about them at the debate.”

Washington Post: “At least 10 men wearing the uniform of the Proud Boys, a violent extremist group, appeared outside the entrance of a [Trump] rally.”

NJ.com: “Spotted along the boardwalk were a few people wearing T-shirts that read ‘Proud Boys,’ a right-wing group the Anti-Defamation League has labeled as extremist. Among the crowds gathered at the entrance to the beach awaiting Trump’s arrival were three masked Proud Boys members.”

REMINDER: Trump has repeatedly threatened violence against his political opponents, vowed to go after the “enemy from within,” and pledged to be a dictator on “day one” of his new administration.

Trump: “I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within … totally destroying our country … [I]n terms of Election Day, I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big – and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by [the] National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.” 

Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN: “Many people have lost American presidential elections over the last 230 years – Trump is the only one to say about violence if he loses ‘it depends.’”

The Atlantic: “Trump Says He’ll Be a Dictator on ‘Day One’”

Associated Press: “Trump declines to rule out abusing power to seek retribution if he returns to the White House”

Washington Post: “Trump calls political enemies ‘vermin,’ echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini”

The Guardian: “Donald Trump says he will lock up his political enemies if he is president again.”

CNN: “Trump says ‘war hawk’ Liz Cheney should be fired upon in escalation of violent rhetoric against his opponents”

Trump: “Somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that.”

Gaetz is a chaos agent who played games with the debt ceiling, wheeling and dealing while the fate of our economy hung in the balance, and plunged the House GOP into disarray.

Semafor: “Matt Gaetz embraces role as hostage taker as House leaders brace for debt limit fallout”

Semafor: “Republicans have often bristled at accusations that they are resorting to hostage tactics by refusing to raise the federal debt ceiling without securing spending cuts. But on Tuesday, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz leaned into the charge as he explained to reporters that he and his fellow hardline conservatives would likely reject any sort of compromise deal that watered down the party-line bill Republicans passed through the house.”

Politico: “The House GOP Is a Failed State”

The Atlantic: “McCarthy’s defeat was the result of a bitter power struggle within the GOP, and especially due to the efforts of Representative Matt Gaetz, a hard-right rebel, who forced the vote. The House is now without a speaker, and more chaos is sure to follow. The GOP still holds the House majority, but it is a deeply riven and dysfunctional party.”

Gaetz is an anti-choice extremist who endorsed Florida’s cruel law that bans abortion before many women even know they’re pregnant and has mocked women for supporting reproductive freedom.

Gaetz: “I’m not voting for Amendment 4 [to enshrine a right to abortion in the Florida Constitution] and I encourage all of my congressional colleagues to join me in voicing their opposition.”

Salon: “Matt Gaetz says ‘women who look like a thumb’ shouldn’t complain about abortion rights”

WESH: “Florida congressman Matt Gaetz stands by calling pro-choice protesters ugly, overweight”

Gaetz: “How many of the women rallying against overturning Roe are over-educated, under-loved millennials who sadly return from protests to a lonely microwave dinner with their cats, and no Bumble matches?”