Tulsi Gabbard to be chief of National Intel; Trump picks Matt Gaetz for Attorney General & Marco Rubio for Secretary of State

Associated Press West Palm Beach: President-elect Donald Trump chose Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general on Wednesday, bypassing more experienced options in favour of a loyalist who has built a national reputation as a disruptor and whom Trump has tasked with dramatically overhauling the Justice Department. Trump also announced that he had tapped Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for Secretary of State. And he selected Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress and presidential candidate, to serve as his director of national intelligence.

The choices continued a pattern of Trump stocking his Cabinet with those he believes he can trust to execute his agenda rather than longtime officials with experience in their fields. Gaetz’s selection, in particular, was seen as a shock. The Florida lawmaker was not among the more established attorneys who had been mentioned as contenders for the job, and even his colleagues in Congress appeared stunned by the news. “Everybody was saying, ‘Oh my God,’” said Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho. “That was about as big a surprise as I’ve had in a long time.” He irked fellow GOP members in early 2023 when he filed the resolution that successfully ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy then helped fund a primary challenge to Gaetz that included commercials alleging that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old, an allegation that had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee though that probe effectively ended Wednesday when Gaetz resigned from Congress. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and the Justice Department ended its own sex trafficking investigation without bringing charges against him.

House Republicans first got wind of the nomination during a private meeting and initially thought the news was a joke before realizing Trump had indeed named Gaetz to serve as the nation’s chief law officer. GOP Rep. Max Miller told reporters the shock in the room was more a reflection of members’ happiness that the Florida Republican will no longer be a member of the chamber after years of instigating intraparty battles. Even Trump’s allies in the Senate were keeping their distance. Trump announced the decision in a post in his Truth Social network, saying Gaetz would “root out the systemic corruption at DOJ, and return the Department to its true mission of fighting Crime, and upholding our Democracy and Constitution.” He tried to match Trump’s often-crude attacks by joking about the size of Trump’s hands in a reference to his manhood. Trump responded by branding Rubio as “little Marco,” a nickname that stuck with the senator for years. Tulsi Gabbard, meanwhile, will serve as director of national intelligence. Both Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. had been advocating for her to get a position in the administration, after she grew close with them during the campaign.

She helped prepare Trump for his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, announced she was becoming a Republican at a Trump rally during the race’s final stretch, and received huge cheers from his crowds at events. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider, compared to her predecessor.