President-elect Trump has already started naming members to his cabinet. This week, he nominated now-former Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida to be U.S. Attorney General.
After the announcement, Gaetz resigned from the House of Representatives. He was under investigation by the House ethics committee for sexual misconduct and drug use. Gaetz has also been investigated for sex trafficking.
Gaetz made headlines attacking Jews and Jewish organizations throughout his career in the House of Representatives.
Gaetz has called the Anti-Defamation League racist, invited a Holocaust denier to the State of the Union, and used antisemitism to defend his vote against the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
In 2018, then-freshman Congressman Gaetz invited Holocaust denier and white nationalist Charles Johnson as his guest to the State of the Union.
In 2021, Gaetz called the ADL “racist” when the organization called for Fox News to fire host Tucker Carlson for promoting the antisemitic great replacement theory, and then doubled down, saying Carlson was “correct.”
Gaetz invoked the great replacement theory on X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2018, saying that “Soros” was funding migrant caravans – a reference to Jewish billionaire George Soros, a financier of progressive causes.
The former congressman has also been a defender of antisemite U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. In 2021, Gaetz defended her comments on X when she invoked Holocaust inversion, comparing COVID restrictions to the Holocaust.
In 2024, Gaetz emerged as a vocal opponent of the Antisemitism Awareness Act, citing specific objections to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism – a central element of the legislation. His objection was based on his adherence to the antisemitic trope that the Jews killed Jesus.
The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League released statements after announcing Gaetz’s nomination.
“At a time of historic levels of antisemitism, we need someone at the helm of the Department of Justice who will tackle antisemitism — not peddle in it,” the AJC said in a statement. “Matt Gaetz’s history of problematic remarks — including perpetuating antisemitic conspiracy theories — should be disqualifying for anyone seeking to be America’s top law enforcement officer.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the ADL, said: “Rep. Matt Gaetz has a long history of trafficking in antisemitism — from explaining his vote against the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act by invoking the centuries-old trope that Jews killed Jesus to defending the Great Replacement Theory and inviting a Holocaust denier as his 2018 State of the Union guest. He should not be appointed to any high office, much less one overseeing the impartial execution of our nation’s laws.”
