Steny H. Hoyer
11/13/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/13/2024 18:43
Hoyer Statement on President-elect Donald Trump Naming Rep. Matt Gaetz as Nominee for Attorney General
WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement today after President-elect Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (FL-01) as U.S. Attorney General:
"Donald Trump's nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as Attorney General is an extreme perversion of justice. The chief law enforcement officer of the United States ought to have experience enforcing the law. Rep. Gaetz only has experience trying to subvert the rule of law.
"Rep. Gaetz is guided solely by revenge and retribution, not constitutional doctrine and legal principle. After the Department of Justice and the FBI opened an investigation into his alleged criminal misconduct, he called for Congress to defund the FBI and baselessly claimed that the FBI 'organized and participated in the January 6 Capitol riot.' When his own party allowed a House Ethics Committee probe into the allegations against him to proceed, Rep. Gaetz refused to cooperate with the investigation and orchestrated the first ouster of a House Speaker in American history.
"These various investigations aside, Rep. Gaetz is still exceptionally unfit to oversee our justice system, defend our democracy, and protect Americans' civil rights. He has explicitly endorsed white supremacists' 'Great Replacement Theory' and regularly made derogatory comments about Jews, LGBTQ Americans, women, and people of color. He introduced legislation that would limit punishments for the violent insurrectionists who assaulted our Capitol on January 6 to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
"One who seeks to obstruct, pervert, and brandish our laws cannot be trusted to uphold our laws."
"Donald Trump's nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as Attorney General is an extreme perversion of justice. The chief law enforcement officer of the United States ought to have experience enforcing the law. Rep. Gaetz only has experience trying to subvert the rule of law.
"Rep. Gaetz is guided solely by revenge and retribution, not constitutional doctrine and legal principle. After the Department of Justice and the FBI opened an investigation into his alleged criminal misconduct, he called for Congress to defund the FBI and baselessly claimed that the FBI 'organized and participated in the January 6 Capitol riot.' When his own party allowed a House Ethics Committee probe into the allegations against him to proceed, Rep. Gaetz refused to cooperate with the investigation and orchestrated the first ouster of a House Speaker in American history.
"These various investigations aside, Rep. Gaetz is still exceptionally unfit to oversee our justice system, defend our democracy, and protect Americans' civil rights. He has explicitly endorsed white supremacists' 'Great Replacement Theory' and regularly made derogatory comments about Jews, LGBTQ Americans, women, and people of color. He introduced legislation that would limit punishments for the violent insurrectionists who assaulted our Capitol on January 6 to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
"One who seeks to obstruct, pervert, and brandish our laws cannot be trusted to uphold our laws."