Former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is backing President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.
Loeffler spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Politically Georgia” podcast on Wednesday about her support of Trump’s pick of former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who’s publicly insulted her in the past, for the nation’s top law enforcement job.
“I do think Matt Gaetz will and can get confirmed,” Loeffler said. “And if I were in the Senate, would I confirm him? Absolutely.”
Gaetz was an outspoken critic of Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to name Loeffler to an open U.S. Senate seat in 2019, instead urging him to select then-U.S. Rep. Doug Collins for the job. He pleaded with the governor not to “betray” the president by picking Loeffler for the spot.
“It’s not the establishment you are screwing with your donor-induced stubbornness. You are hurting President Trump,” Gaetz said at the time. “You know this because he told you.”
Gaetz has faced allegations of sexual misconduct but has not been charged with a crime. The House Ethics Committee is considering whether to release its report into those allegations after Gaetz resigned from Congress last week when he received the nomination.
The FBI investigated the allegations but did not bring charges, and Loeffler criticized “the media” for continuing to publicize them.
“I think the American people want to get to the facts,” she said. “I know the Senate will want to know is he the right person to lead? Of course he is. He is President Trump’s pick.”
As Trump continues to announce Cabinet picks for his second presidential term, Loeffler, a top Trump campaign donor, also discussed her role as co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee and other prospects in his administration.
“I see myself as a fit for anything that the president needs me to do to move his agenda forward, even if that’s working on the ground here in Georgia,” she said.
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