Fox News’s Gowdy warns GOP against ‘absurd AG pick’ Gaetz

Fox News host Trey Gowdy warned Republicans against supporting President-elect Trump’s decision to elevate former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to serve as attorney general, calling the choice “absurd.”

Anchor Bill Hemmer, speaking Tuesday about the ongoing legal battles Trump faces — including the classified documents and election interference cases — asked Gowdy to weigh in during his appearance on “America’s Newsroom.”

“Do not use the justice system as a weapon,” Gowdy, a former GOP lawmaker who represented South Carolina, responded, as highlighted by Mediaite. “And the message for Republicans is, don’t do it on the other side, either, with this absurd AG pick that you just made.”

The president-elect began rolling out his choices to fill key Cabinet and administrative roles last week. His tapping of Gaetz, a right-wing firebrand, to head the Justice Department (DOJ) has raised eyebrows on both sides of the aisle.

“Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System. Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social at the time.

Gaetz, who resigned from Congress immediately after receiving Trump’s nod, has previously called for taking away funds and doing away with government agencies and departments including “the FBI, CDC, ATF, DOJ, every last one of them, if they do not come to heel.”

The former lawmaker has also been under investigation for sexual misconduct and illicit drug use claims by the same agency he’s been nominated to lead. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

Pressure has been put on Republican leadership and the House Ethics Committee to release a report surrounding the probe of Gaetz.

While the Florida Republican has historically been a strong backer of Trump, he also has critics within his own party, most notably ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

“Justice is different,” Gowdy said Tuesday. “It is a combination of policy, law and also morality. You do not use our justice system as a political weapon. Voters rejected it in November, and they’re going to reject it if Republicans try to do it also.”

“Some things rise above the din,” he added. “The justice system is one of those things.”

The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team.

“DOJ will decline comment,” the department said in an email to The Hill.

Updated at 3:38 pm EST.