# Matt Gaetz withdraws from AG nomination **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 21, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567 "2024-11-21T17:32:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/42 "2024-11-21T19:17:58Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If I can get a little paranoid myself, I wonder if Trump will give Gaetz a Senior Executive Service Justice Department consolation prize that (a) does not require senate confirmation and (b) allows elevation to the acting AG slot after 90 days, no confirmation required. Looking at the [Plum Book](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2020/pdf/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2020.pdf), I see possibilities. I thought someone said in one of these threads that only someone previously confirmed to another position could be appointed acting cabinet secretary. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/43 "2024-11-21T19:19:13Z")
Is it possible that Gaetz somehow learned that “AG” doesn’t stand for “Assaults Girls?” ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/44 "2024-11-21T19:22:24Z")
Perhaps Trump offered him the next SCOTUS seat ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/45 "2024-11-21T19:24:18Z")
Does the Florida governorship have term limits? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/46 "2024-11-21T19:25:15Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > Perhaps Trump offered him the next SCOTUS seat You omitted the “R”. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/47 "2024-11-21T19:29:32Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I thought someone said in one of these threads that only someone previously confirmed to another position could be appointed acting cabinet secretary. I have not reviewed the case law, but this is what I was going by: [Vacancies Act FAQ](https://presidentialtransition.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/11/Partnership_Vacancies_Act_FAQ.pdf) > [@](#): > > The president may designate as the acting official an agency employee who is paid at the GS-15 rate or above and who has been an employee of the agency for at least 90 of the past 365 days preceding the vacancy. At first glance, it looks like the acting official can only serve for 210 days. But the “WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE VACANCIES ACT CAP IS REACHED?” section of my link seems to say that this was poorly enforced during Trump 45. ---
**Author:** ![Slight\_Off\_Hand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Slight\_Off\_Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slight_Off_Hand)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/48 "2024-11-21T19:29:41Z")
So Gaetz pulled out? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/49 "2024-11-21T19:30:43Z")
> [@Slight\_Off\_Hand](#): > > So Gaetz pulled out? > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Gaetz Pulls Out! There seems to be an echo in here. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/50 "2024-11-21T19:31:37Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > That being said, it’s hard to conceive of the clown car not adding a different clown. Aileen Cannon, anyone? My money’s on [Alex Kozinski](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Kozinski). > Kozinski’s judicial career ended in 2017 when he retired after over a dozen of his former female law clerks and legal staffers accused him of sexual harassment. Kozinski had previously faced an ethics hearing over inappropriate sexual material. > Kozinski is representing former President Donald Trump in his lawsuit against Twitter on appeal in the Ninth Circuit. ---
**Author:** ![Slight\_Off\_Hand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Slight\_Off\_Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slight_Off_Hand)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/51 "2024-11-21T19:31:41Z")
That’s what I get for jumping for the joke. At least it’s just egg on my face. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/52 "2024-11-21T19:37:01Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Thank God. The senators he spoke to must have told him there was no way he would be confirmed. Gaetz should have known that, right? He’s got to have understood he’s almost universally reviled by everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/53 "2024-11-21T19:41:11Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > At first glance, it looks like the acting official can only serve for 210 days. But the “WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE VACANCIES ACT CAP IS REACHED?” section of my link seems to say that this was poorly enforced during Trump 45. The position would then be considered vacant and would stay vacant until permanently filled. On the other hand, any duties that someone in that position could delegate to someone else could be taken up by another person in that department, in the absence of a head of the department. > **[R44997.pdf](https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R44997.pdf)** > Applying the first, narrower interpretation of “functions and duties,” the Vacancies Act has been described as applying to only the nondelegable functions and duties of a vacant office because a delegable duty is not a duty that may be performed “only” by the officer in the vacant office. One consequence of this interpretation is that temporary officials or subordinate officials may perform the delegable duties of a vacant office without violating the Vacancies Act. Further, under this view, even if a duty has not been delegated, as long as it is delegable, it will fall outside the Section 3348 definition. A number of courts, along with the executive branch and the Comptroller General, have seemingly adopted this view, concluding that the Vacancies Act applies only to nondelegable duties. One federal court of appeals acknowledged that this approach renders the Vacancies Act’s scope “vanishingly small,” as usually only a small subset of an official’s duties will be nondelegable, but the court nonetheless concluded that this was the best reading of Section 3348. > > For example, the GAO considered in 2008 whether a senior official in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, had violated the Vacancies Act by performing the responsibilities of an absent officer, the Assistant Attorney General for the OLC. The GAO concluded that the principal deputy had not violated the Vacancies Act because he had merely been performing the duties of his own position, which included the delegated duties of the vacant office. The GAO approved of this delegation after reviewing the relevant statutes and regulations and concluding that “there [were] no duties” that could be performed only by the Assistant Attorney General. The Department of Justice has likewise argued that Congress intended to allow the delegation of “non-exclusive responsibilities” because Congress “understood” that if only the head of an agency could perform all of a vacant office’s duties, “the business of the government could be seriously impaired.” So the department could probably function okay for a while without someone running it. I assume that it would eventually need someone to fill it, but it could theoretically continue to operate without someone for a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/54 "2024-11-21T19:57:47Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The position would then be considered vacant and would stay vacant until permanently filled. This guy is the precedent where an acting got away with, in Trump 45, staying on far past the 210 day limit: [Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, November 2019 - January 2021](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Wolf#Tenure) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/55 "2024-11-21T19:58:07Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Am I a Debbie Downer threadshitter for speculating that there will be an even worse AG nomination, and Gaetz will get appointed to something even more wildly inappropriate, and the news cycle will be dominated by “haha libs I bet you regret opposing Gaetz for AG” Possible… but rumor has it that it was _Republicans_ that opposed Gaetz as AG. By a large margin. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/56 "2024-11-21T19:59:58Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > This guy is the precedent where an acting got away with, in Trump 45, staying on far past the 210 day limit: Sure, Trump gets away with a lot of things he shouldn’t. Most of the time it’s because he is trying to do things nobody has done before, because they actually cared about things Trump doesn’t. We can say what the law is and what’s supposed to happen, but predicting what will _actually_ happen is nearly impossible. Such as predicting who gets the AG nod next. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/57 "2024-11-21T20:12:59Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Does the Florida governorship have term limits? Yup. Desantis will be out of here in a couple years. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/58 "2024-11-21T20:13:55Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Possible… but rumor has it that it was _Republicans_ that opposed Gaetz as AG. By a large margin. It’s literally the only plausible answer, they wouldn’t care if Democrats opposed him. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/59 "2024-11-21T20:15:26Z")
> **[Matt Gaetz Withdraws As Trump's AG Pick: From Bill Barr To Ken Paxton - Who...](https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/matt-gaetz-withdraws-as-donald-trumps-ag-pick-from-bill-brar-to-ken-paxton-who-could-replace-him-article-115538126)** > > Following Matt Gaetz's withdrawal as AG, Trump is expected to quickly name a replacement, aiming for a recess appointment before his January 21, 2025, inauguration. Likely contenders include Ken Paxton, Bill Barr, and Mike Lee, previously associated... Likely replacements: Ken Paxton Bill Barr Mike Lee I’d bet Paxton as Trump’s next choice, since loyalty is prime criteria. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/60 "2024-11-21T20:15:29Z")
Sounds to me like Gaetz **really** didn’t want that Ethics Commission report released or leaked. Had he been up for confirmation, some Senators who had been trying to subpoena the report would likely have followed through. Plus, the perv probably realized that after all that he almost certainly wouldn’t be confirmed. Trump: “Only the best people”. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567/61 "2024-11-21T20:17:47Z")
That’s what I was thinking… is this a bit of pre-emptive flexing on the part of the Senate to telegraph that they’re not planning on being a rubber-stamp? Or is Gaetz just _that_ awful, that they couldn’t rubber-stamp him? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-gaetz-withdraws-from-ag-nomination/1010567.md?page=4)