FEAR OF FURTHER POLITICISATION
Former Justice Department officials said they worried that Gaetz would seek to politicise the operations of the agency, which has had a decades-old tradition of independence from the White House.
“I worry that anyone who comes in as attorney general with the goal of politicising the work of the department not only risks undermining the rule of law, but also the important safeguards that have existed to protect the legitimacy of the department’s work,” said Johnathan Smith, a former deputy assistant attorney general who left the Justice Department earlier this year.
Bradley Moss, an attorney specialising in national security, said that in past administrations, someone with Gaetz’s history would have raised concerns about his ability to pass security clearance reviews.
“I would be shocked to see someone with his background get cleared in an ordinary circumstance,” Moss said.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the pick.
Gaetz worked at a Florida law firm before being elected to the House in 2016, the year Trump was first elected.
In a social media message posted hours before Trump announced his nomination, Gaetz said, “We ought to have a full court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people. And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three-letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to get going!”
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, are units of the Justice Department.
Gaetz’s nomination could signal the Trump administration will continue an aggressive approach toward antitrust enforcement, particularly when it comes to Big Tech, which began under Trump and was popularised by Biden’s antitrust enforcers, including Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan.
Gaetz filed a legal brief in support of the FTC’s ban on businesses forcing workers into non-compete agreements, a rule the US Chamber of Commerce business lobbying group has sued to block.
He also praised the Justice Department’s work under Biden in pursuing anti-monopoly cases against Google, and warned the company in August that it must abide by any remedy imposed in the case where a judge found it held an illegal monopoly in online search.
