Gaetz Is the ‘Shiny Object’ to Distract From Tulsi Gabbard: Legal Analyst

President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Representative Matt Gaetz for attorney general is nothing more than a “shiny object” to distract from another Cabinet nominee, Tulsi Gabbard, according to legal scholar Laurence Tribe.
Trump announced Gaetz’s nomination on Wednesday, and the decision was almost immediately met with skepticism from some Republicans. The Florida lawmaker has butted heads on several occasions with more traditional conservatives in the House and is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct.
Since his decisive victory last week, Trump has wasted no time filling out his next administration. Before his announcement about Gaetz’s selection, he released a statement saying he had picked Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic lawmaker from Hawaii who recently announced she had joined the GOP, as director of national intelligence, a choice that has also drawn skepticism.
“My best guess: Matt Gaetz is simply the shiny object that Trump is dangling out there to distract from Tulsi Gabbard and to generate a sigh of relief when Matt Whitaker or some other relatively normal type is nominated to be [attorney general] after Gaetz goes down in flames,” Tribe wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.
Newsweek emailed Trump’s transition team on Thursday for comment.
Some Republicans have suggested that Gaetz may not have the votes in the Senate to be confirmed as attorney general in January, despite the GOP taking control of the upper chamber of Congress after last week’s election. Trump has already called on the new Senate leadership to allow recess appointments to avoid any challenges to his Cabinet nominations.
Gabbard’s appointment is also likely to be met with some pushback. The former congresswoman, who also served in the Hawaii Army National Guard, has been extremely critical of U.S. foreign policy. Critics accuse her of spreading Russian propaganda, specifically in light of the war in Ukraine.
In December 2019, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Gabbard as a “Russian asset.” Republican Senator Mitt Romney has accused Gabbard of “parroting fake Russian propaganda.” Former Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger has called Gabbard “traitorous” in response to comments about Russia and Ukraine.
It’s unclear if Senate members will put up a fight against any of Trump’s nominees. The chamber traditionally confirms a new president’s Cabinet picks without much strife. South Dakota Senator John Thune, the newly appointed Republican majority leader in the Senate, has said the chamber “will do everything we can” to process Trump’s nominations quickly “so they can implement his agenda.”
If Gaetz’s nomination is rejected, Trump may go back to the drawing board. As Tribe suggested, Whitaker, who served as acting attorney general during Trump’s first term, between November 2018 and February 2019, might be an easier sell to the Senate.
Whitaker was among the names believed to be on Trump’s shortlist for the next attorney general. He has also been a loyal supporter of Trump, including denouncing the legal challenges against the former president as “nonsense.”
“I think the attorney general is going to have to go into the Department of Justice and fix a lot of things that are broken currently,” Whitaker said during an appearance on Fox News last week, before Gaetz’s nomination was announced.
During the interview, Whitaker said he believes Trump should be given a “clean slate” regarding any criminal or civil charges still against him “to allow him to work on behalf of the American people.”