Donald Trump convinced Republicans to ignore his own misconduct. So can he do the same for his candidates?

WASHINGTON – In the two weeks since Donald Trump After winning the presidency, he sought to demonstrate his dominance by nominating loyalists to top management positions, even though most of them lacked expertise and some were facing accusations of sexual harassment. He often appears to be encouraging Congress to oppose his own decisions.

But on Thursday, Trump’s attempt to act with impunity showed a crack. Matt Gaetzhis selection as attorney general, withdrew from evaluation.

Trump appointed Gaetz, a Florida congressman, as the nation’s top law enforcement official even though he was unpopular with his colleagues, had little legal experience and was accused of having sex with an underage girl, a charge he denied. Plagued by investigations during his first presidency, Trump wanted a loyal ally officer at the Ministry of Justice in second place.

But it was never clear that Gaetz could win enough support from lawmakers to be confirmed as attorney general. Trump chose Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general who defended him in his first impeachment trial and supported his claims of voter fraud, as his replacement.

The question now is whether Gaetz is uniquely unpalatable, or whether Trump’s other picks will overcome his party’s willingness to gloss over concerns that would have sunk candidates in an earlier political era.

The next test will likely be Pete Hegseth, whom Trump wants to lead the Pentagon even though his sexual assault allegations have been denied. Republicans so far gathered around Hegsethan Army veteran and former Fox News host.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the debate over Gaetz will have little impact on Trump’s other picks. These will be evaluated “one at a time,” he said.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, suggested the opposite, claiming that “the dominoes are falling.”

“The trickle down of evidence and truth will eventually destroy some of them,” he said.

Trump’s election victory was a sign that there may not be many red lines left in American politics. He won the presidential race despite authoritarian, racist and misogynistic rhetoric; Not to mention years of lies about election fraud and his role in triggering the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. So was he criminally convicted falsifying business records to pay hush money found responsible for sexual abuse in a civil case.

Trump, empowered by voters who ignored his misconduct and saw him as a powerful agent of change, showed no respect for Washington norms. is running to fill out his second administration.. Transition team did not follow through federal background checks For Trump’s personnel selections. While some of their picks have extensive experience in the fields they have been chosen to lead, others personal friends and Fox News personalities People who have influenced and made Trump proud over the years.

A few people have faced allegations involving sexual harassment.

After Gaetz, Hegseth is the most scrutinized. After Trump announced Hegseth as his nominee for Pentagon chief, allegations emerged that he sexually assaulted a woman in California in 2017.

The woman said the man took her phone, closed the hotel room door and refused to let her leave. A police report made public this week.

Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter was consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said. But he paid the woman a secret agreement In 2023. Hegseth’s attorney said the payment was made to eliminate the threat of a false lawsuit.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick for secretary of health and human services. He also faced allegations of abuse of power. A woman who babysat for him and his second wife told Vanity Fair magazine that Kennedy groped her in the late 1990s, when she was 23.

Kennedy did not deny the allegation and sent an apology to the woman after the article was published. This is not the only obstacle facing Kennedy; He has spent years spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines, raising fears that he will be made a top health official in the new administration.

Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for education secretary, is fighting a lawsuit linked to her former company, World Wrestling Entertainment. He was accused of knowingly enabling the sexual abuse of children by an employee in the 1980s, and he denies the allegations.

Tulsi Gabbard is another person who may face an uphill endorsement battle, but for very different reasons. The former Democratic representative from Hawaii was an avowed ally of Trump and chose him as director of national intelligence. But lawmakers and national security officials have serious concerns about Gabbard’s past. It reflects Russian propaganda. Critics said he would jeopardize relations with U.S. allies.

Gaetz was investigated by federal law enforcement for sex trafficking, but the case was closed without charges and Republicans said blocked from publication Relevant report of the Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives.

However, some allegations were leaked, including the allegation that Gaetz paid women for sex. One of the women testified to the committee that she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl, according to the woman’s attorney.

When Gaetz met with senators this week, it became clear that he would face stubborn resistance from lawmakers who are concerned about his behavior and believe he is unfit to lead the Justice Department.

“While momentum is strong, it is clear that my endorsement was an unfair distraction,” Gaetz wrote in announcing his withdrawal on social media.

Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican from Indiana, said he believed there were four to six members of the caucus who would vote against Gaetz, which would likely doom his candidacy, and that “the math has gotten very difficult.”

He said some of the issues and allegations regarding Gaetz are “perhaps out of line.”

“I think there was just too much going on; it was like a leaky moat and, you know, it broke,” Braun said.

Trump thanked Gaetz in his post on the social media site Truth Social, without addressing the essence of the allegations against him.

“He was doing very well, but he also didn’t want to distract the Administration he has great respect for,” Trump wrote.

____

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Stephen Groves and Lisa Macaro contributed from Washington. Jill Colvin in New York and Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also contributed.