President-elect Donald Trump appears to be standing by former congressman Matt Gaetz, his nominee to be the next attorney general. Trump sent Vice President-elect JD Vance to Capitol Hill to coordinate meetings between Gaetz and Republican senators.
Meanwhile, members of the House Ethics Committee are reportedly meeting this week to determine whether to release a report into Gaetz's conduct. Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are predicting that details of the report will trickle out anyway, even if the committee decides against releasing its full report.
"The truth is the information is going to come out one way or the other," said Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. "So I guess the more I thought about it, it's not critical that they release the report because we know roughly who the witnesses are and I assume they'll be called before the Judiciary Committee. I think in order to do our job, we need to get access to all the information, but also to protect the president against any surprises that might damage his administration."
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It's still not clear whether former congressman Gaetz will have enough support among Senate Republicans to be confirmed to the position of attorney general. Those nomination hearings aren't expected to begin in the Senate Judiciary Committee in earnest until early next year.
