Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Wednesday on CNN’s “The Lead” that President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as his attorney general was a “red-alert moment for American democracy.”
Murphy said, “I was walking off the Senate floor just moments ago when the news was announced. You could literally hear the jaws dropping to the floor of Republican senators who are now going to be in a position to stand up to Donald Trump in a way that they have been unwilling to.”
He continued, “Matt Gaetz is dangerously unqualified. That’s not the worst of it. Gaetz has been Trump’s chief defender when it comes to Trump’s assault on democracy. His attempt to overthrow the government on January 6. And he has openly called for the abolition of law enforcement agencies if they don’t get in line with conservative political priorities. This is going to be a red-alert moment for American democracy. Matt Gaetz is being nominated for one reason and one reason only. He will implement Donald Trump’s transition of the department of justice from an agency that stands up for all of us to an agency that is simply an arm of the White house designed to persecute and prosecute Trump’s political enemies.”
Murphy added, “This is a stunning announcement in some ways, but not surprising in others. Trump told us during the campaign that he was going to use the white house to go after people who politically opposed him and it seems this pick for the head of the department of justice is very much in line with the promises he made during the campaign.”
Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN
