GOP Divided on Release of Gaetz Report 11/20 06:17

   As President-elect Donald Trump digs in on his pick of former Rep. Matt 
Gaetz for attorney general, Republican senators are divided over how much 
information they will demand to move his confirmation -- and how much to push 
back on Trump as he demands that they quickly rubber stamp his Cabinet once he 
takes office in January.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- As President-elect Donald Trump digs in on his pick of 
former Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Republican senators are divided 
over how much information they will demand to move his confirmation -- and how 
much to push back on Trump as he demands that they quickly rubber stamp his 
Cabinet once he takes office in January.

   Gaetz, who has been calling senators and is expected to start meeting with 
some of them as soon as this week, is an unconventional pick for the nation's 
top law enforcement official. His nomination creates a confirmation climb in 
the Senate, where many Republicans are deeply uncomfortable with his selection.

   The Florida Republican spent his congressional career agitating against the 
Justice Department and has faced a House Ethics investigation into whether he 
engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts and 
sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct -- allegations 
Gaetz denies. He is also deeply unpopular within his own party after leading 
the push to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year.

   Publicly, Republican senators say they will give Gaetz the same due process 
that they give any other nominee. Most are loath to criticize him directly. But 
they are split on whether to demand access to the ethics report, which the 
House ethics committee could choose to release after Gaetz resigned from the 
House last week.

   House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has positioned himself as Trump's top ally 
in Congress, said last week that he will "strongly request" that the Ethics 
committee not release the results of its investigation.

   Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who will become Senate majority 
leader in January, deferred to Johnson, saying Monday that the ethics report is 
"a House issue." But several in his conference argued that the Senate should 
see the report, whether it is released publicly or not.

   "There's nothing about that that would smell right, to say, 'Hey, there's a 
report but none of us want to see it,'" said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.

   Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who served in the House with Gaetz, said 
the ethics report is important for the Senate's "advice and consent" role laid 
out in the Constitution. "I think the report from the House plays a pivotal 
role in that," he said.

   Others said the information would come out one way or another, even if it 
isn't released. "I'm going to honor Speaker Johnson's position," said North 
Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. "I think it's a reasonable position."

   The simmering clash between the Senate, House and Trump could be just the 
first of many to come. Trump has made clear he expects next year's unified 
Republican Congress to give him broad leeway on his nominees, and has already 
been making some calls to senators.

   Cabinet nominees have traditionally provided a flood of paperwork to Senate 
committees ahead of their confirmation hearings, participating in background 
checks by the FBI and filling out lengthy questionnaires that probe every 
aspect of their lives and careers. But Trump's transition has already signaled 
that it might not request the background checks and has so far declined to sign 
agreements with the White House and the Department of Justice to allow that 
process to begin.

   The documentation, including the criminal background checks and financial 
vetting, could be key for senators in both parties who have questions about 
Gaetz and some of Trump's other more controversial nominees, including Tulsi 
Gabbard for director of national intelligence, Pete Hegseth for secretary of 
Defense and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services.

   In the absence of the traditional process, whether to proceed without an FBI 
background check would be up to individual committee chairs, who will be under 
tremendous pressure from Trump and his allies to move his nominees quickly. On 
Tuesday, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the incoming No. 2 Republican under Thune, 
said the Senate will begin hearings once Republicans take the majority on Jan. 
3 and start holding confirmation votes once Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

   Republican senators say they will demand that documentation, but it's 
unclear how that might work if Trump's transition doesn't consent to it.

   "I think that if they want a speedy consideration of this nomination we've 
got to have as much transparency as we can have," said Iowa Sen. Chuck 
Grassley, who will serve as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman next year. 
"Because you've heard my colleagues, especially on the Republican side, say 
that they have some questions."

   Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed 
Services Committee, said he wants a traditional process involving the full FBI 
background check for Hegseth and the committee's other nominees. "We should do 
it by the numbers," Wicker said.

   Democrats are wary, though, that the process could get muddled, or 
curtailed, as Trump puts the full force of his pressure on Senate Republicans.

   "If there's a cursory background check, like we call 20 people -- that's not 
going to be appropriate," said Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the current 
chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee who will be the panel's top 
Democrat next year.

   Meanwhile. Gaetz has already paid a visit to at least one group of potential 
allies, the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, where he outlined for the group 
"some of the things that that need to be done at the Department of Justice to 
end the weaponization," said Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., the chairman of the 
Freedom Caucus.

   Among the ideas Gaetz discussed was "eliminating a lot of the senior staff," 
Harris said.

   As for the allegations of sexual misconduct against Gaetz, Harris dismissed 
them saying, "last time I looked, in America, you're innocent until proven 
guilty." He said he did not believe the House Ethics files on Gaetz should be 
released.

   "We think that the president deserves to get his selections approved for the 
cabinet, and Mr. Gaetz knows what to do to end the weaponization of the 
department," Harris said.

   Speaker Johnson also made clear his position Tuesday, telling reporters that 
the Senate should do its job and "sure, take a look, do a deep dive" and then 
move them along for confirmation so "the president has the team in place to do 
what the American people have elected him to do."

   "I think President Trump is looking for persons who will shake up the status 
quo," Johnson said. "And we got a mandate in this election cycle to do that."