Top Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he “absolutely” still wants to review an unreleased ethics probe into attorney general hopeful Matt Gaetz amid increasing backlash over Donald Trump’s selection of him for the powerful position.
“I don’t want there to be any limitation at all on what the Senate could consider,” Cornyn told reporters Thursday.
The probe was believed to be “highly damaging” in its examination of sexual assault allegations against Gaetz. However, the release of the report was stopped in its tracks when Gaetz resigned from Congress after receiving an attorney general nomination from president-elect Donald Trump.
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A lawyer representing one of Gaetz’s alleged accusers also called for the report to still be released. In a post on X, lawyer John Clune wrote, “She was a high school student and there were witnesses.”
Cornyn’s comments come after at least 10 GOP senators said they would not vote to confirm Gaetz as attorney general.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski appear to be among those against Gaetz.
Former Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California also cast doubt on Gaetz’s chances of fulfilling the role considering his allegedly sticky ethics background.
“Gaetz won’t get confirmed, everybody knows that,” said McCarthy in a Nov. 13 interview on Bloomberg Television. He added that Gaetz was the only cabinet choice of Trump’s that was not good.
“President Trump understands the job. He knows the people that he needs around him to get there. And I think he’s got to be much better prepared because he only has one term,” said McCarthy. “But he’ll he’ll hit the ground running this time.”
McCarthy and Gaetz’s mutual hatred for each other has been a long and storied affair. During the RNC in July, McCarthy made reference to Gaetz’s ethics probe. “He’s got an ethics complaint about paying, sleeping with a 17-year-old,” he told CNN.
