Negative signs for Gaetz as senators brush off questions amid Trump pressure

A negative sign looms for Matt Gaetz: Nearly a dozen GOP senators won’t commit to confirming him for attorney general, saying they want to let the process play out.

And many, even if they aren’t insisting on seeing the potentially damaging House Ethics report on the recently resigned lawmaker, assume the information will have to come out.

“He’s got an uphill climb,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a senior member of the conference who said she looked forward to meeting with Gaetz and the Judiciary Committee’s review of the nomination.

Promising to follow the vetting process doesn’t mean senators will necessarily oppose a nominee, but it’s notable given GOP senators are clearly wary of crossing President-elect Donald Trump. And it contrasts heavily with more Trump-aligned senators, many of whom have indicated they will support Gaetz no matter what. Given the litany of allegations against the Florida firebrand, including that he had sex with a minor, it leaves plenty of room for senators to opt against him later. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Trump has called at least one senator personally to talk about Gaetz, and the attorney general nominee makes a few calls of his own. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he got a call from Gaetz on Thursday evening, and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said both Trump and Gaetz have called him. Cramer said Trump asked him to give Gaetz “a shot” and Cramer didn’t pick up the Gaetz call because he didn’t recognize the number.

“That was kind of the whole conversation,” Cramer said. “He’s the disrupter that the department needs. That’s the bottom line. And he doesn’t know that anybody else really will be.”

The House Ethics Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday, as pressure intensifies on the panel to release their investigative findings about Gaetz — a report they’ve worked on for more than a year. The committee could vote to publish the report, bury it, or share it with senators. Many senators believe the report may come out in other ways if the panel tries to keep it under wraps.

Kennedy encouraged lawmakers on the committee to “follow the rules,” but added that “we live in a Washington, D.C., version of la la land and, as we all know, this place leaks like a wet paper bag.”

Incoming Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) refused multiple times to say whether he’d demand access to the House Ethics report on Monday, vowing his committee’s professional staff would obtain information on Gaetz. He added that questions on the former congressman’s conduct should wait until after confirmation hearings.

“You guys are all asking me these questions that would be better asked after the hearing, then we got some answers for you,” the Iowa Republican said.

Grassley declined to answer whether he would interview cooperating witnesses on Gaetz’s alleged conduct who have spoken with the House Ethics Committee.

Senators on the Judiciary Committee conducting their own investigation seemed to be a popular Plan B among lawmakers, if the House Ethics Committee doesn’t share the report. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Monday said that though he agrees with Speaker Mike Johnson in not wanting to disrupt the “integrity” of the ethics process, he sees that as “separate from the likelihood that whatever was in there is going to be released.”

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), seen as a likely swing vote, said of the prospect of seeing the Ethics report: “If I feel like I don’t have sufficient information down the road, I’ll make that known.”

Still, it’s unlikely a truncated Senate investigation would have the breadth of the unreleased House Ethics report. An attorney told ABC News on Monday that two of his clients testified to the House Ethics Committee that Gaetz paid them for sex — and one of the women added that she witnessed the then-congressman having sex with a 17-year-old minor in 2017.

There is a vocal group of GOP lawmakers who say they’ll back Trump’s nominee picks, including Gaetz, no matter what.

“I don’t know why they wouldn’t” be confirmed, said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who touted his strong rapport with Gaetz as a member of the House

“I’m gonna vote for Matt Gaetz,” said Sen.-elect Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who said he didn’t need to see the Ethics findings.

Only Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have openly questioned the selection. Any nominee will be able to lose only three votes — with Vice President-elect JD Vance breaking the tie — to secure confirmation.

Democrats, meanwhile, are still eyeing ways to usurp the nomination. Some want to try and obtain information on Gaetz from federal agencies while they still have control of the committees, but not all members of the Judiciary Committee think that’s even possible.

“He’s made the nomination, and we’ll have to go through the ordinary process in the appropriate Congress,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said.

Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.