U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., described President-elect Trump’s choice of Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as his next attorney general as a “God tier kind of trolling.”
Speaking with reporters, Fetterman acknowledged some of Trump’s picks were good but stopped short of putting Gaetz in that category.
“It’s just kind of like a God tier kind of trolling just to trigger a meltdown,” he said. “But, really, the Dems’ opinions on Gaetz, that’s not really what’s interesting. The good ones are going to come by my colleagues on the other side, the GOP, on how they can justify voting for that j— off.”
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President-elect Trump and Matt Gaetz (Getty )
Aside from Gaetz, Trump has nominated Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to serve as secretary of state and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., for ambassador to the United Nations. Those were serious picks, Fetterman said.
He also noted that Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., served as attorney general of Missouri before being elected to Congress.
“He would have been a solid pick. And then you put out someone like that,” Fetterman said of Gaetz’s selection. “That’s just nothing but trolling. The interesting answers are going to come from my colleagues on the GOP that they’re going to vote or justify voting for that mess.”
Gaetz could face an uphill battle to get confirmed by the Senate.
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U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., criticized President-elect Trump’s pick of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to become the U.S. attorney general. (Getty Images)
“He will never get confirmed,” a Republican senator, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital. Another Senate Republican source said, “Ain’t gonna happen.”
Gaetz resigned from the House of Representatives Wednesday after Trump announced his nomination.
The House Ethics investigation is investigating Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.
Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., who chairs the Ethics Committee, said that “once a member is no longer a member of Congress, then ethics has no jurisdiction. So, if Matt Gaetz were to be appointed as the attorney general, the ethics investigation [which] is currently ongoing would cease at that point.”
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In addition to the ethics investigation, Gaetz was at one point being investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a yearslong probe into sex trafficking allegations.
Last year, Gaetz’s office said the DOJ ended its investigation and determined he would not be charged with any crimes.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind, Julia Johnson and Kelly Phares contributed to his report.