Signs of us existing in a wild simulation continue. In a wacky turn of predictable Republican infighting, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is threatening to expose her colleagues’ alleged sexual misconduct and hush money payments if they don’t support her boy Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination—a former congressman under investigation for similar allegations.
Greene tweeted a warning for the ages on social media platform X: “If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see.” She referenced “sexual harassment and assault claims that were secretly settled paying off victims with taxpayer money” and cryptically mentioned Jeffrey Epstein files and other unnamed “assets.”
Greene’s unhinged threat emphasizes the unmitigated absurdity of the current situation of the Republican party. We have a sitting congresswoman threatening to expose the sexual misconduct of other congresspeople to defend her friend/congressman accused of having sex with a minor. An attorney recently revealed his client testified to witnessing Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a 2017 party.
Beyond the allegations, Gaetz’s qualifications for the nation’s top law enforcement position rest at nil. He practiced law for only two years after passing the bar before entering politics, and his license was later suspended for failing to pay fees. He lacks any experience working in the Justice Department, as a prosecutor, or really anything remotely related to the practice of law applicable to the job. It appears he’s spent the bulk of his time as a Congressman as an alleged charlatan.
Yet Trump, for whatever unknown reason, remains hard-and-fast in his support, personally calling senators to secure votes for confirmation. More than half of Senate Republicans privately acknowledge they don’t see a path forward for Gaetz’s nomination, with some estimating up to 30 Republicans consider him unqualified in one report.
The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz for “sexual misconduct and illicit drug use” before he abruptly resigned upon receiving the nomination. House Speaker Mike Johnson is now working to prevent the release of what’s reportedly a damaging ethics report, while Senate Republicans (and a great deal of the country) insist on seeing its contents before any confirmation vote.
Greene’s threat could blow up the spot for many of her colleagues, revealing a darker truth that should horrify their constituents: She’s acknowledging that numerous Republican colleagues have engaged in misconduct severe enough to warrant secret settlements with taxpayer money. But rather than expressing concern about this apparent widespread corruption or the people suffering, she’s wielding this information as leverage to force support for a wildly unfit nominee.
The situation perfectly encapsulates the current state of Republican politics. A president-elect who himself faces multiple criminal indictments has nominated someone under ethics investigation to lead the Department of Justice. A tin-foil-hatted congresswoman known for promoting conspiracy theories is threatening to expose her colleagues’ misconduct to force them to support said nominee. And the party leadership is more focused on burying evidence than addressing the underlying issues.
As one social media user noted: “Marjorie Taylor Greene is threatening to expose Republicans for sexual assault and hush money payments if they don’t vote to confirm a guy for AG who is an alleged sex trafficker nominated by an adjudicated rapist and the king of hush money payments. Can’t make this s—- up.” The tragicomedy continues to unfold as Trump doubles down on his bizarre support for Gaetz, viewing him as the most important member of his potential Cabinet. So, it means Senate Republicans face an outlandish choice that provides the temperature of where we are as a country: support a manifestly unqualified nominee with serious ethical concerns or risk having their own alleged misconduct exposed by a loose-cannon colleague. This is apparently the America roughly half of us voted for.
Published: Nov 21, 2024 04:14 am