President-elect Donald Trump has picked former Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of his most ardent supporters, to be attorney general in his new administration. Gaetz was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee until he resigned from Congress late Wednesday. “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System. Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” the president-elect said in a statement. The former Florida congressman, who won his fifth term earlier this month, has frequently defended Trump and cast criminal cases against him as evidence of a weaponized justice system. Gaetz called the May guilty verdict in Trump’s hush money trial “the corrupt result of a corrupt trial, a corrupt judge, and a corrupt DA. We will stand with President Trump now more than ever to save the country.” In the House, Gaetz called for the “motion to vacate” vote last October that ousted Kevin McCarthy from the speakership. Gaetz said he opposed McCarthy’s decision to work with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. McCarthy, however, said earlier this year that he lost his speakership “because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old. … There's other people in jail because of it, and he wanted me to influence it.” The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz over allegations of, among other things, sexual misconduct, sharing inappropriate media on the House floor and using campaign funds for personal use. In June, the committee announced it was dropping some of those allegations, but that certain allegations, including those newly discovered, “merit continued review.” Last year, the Justice Department – the agency he would oversee if he’s confirmed by the Senate – said it would not bring charges against Gaetz, who had been under a federal sex-trafficking investigation since 2020. Gaetz told the New York Times that he had not a sexual relationship with a minor and called the other allegations of wrongdoing against him “unequivocally false.” Gaetz has a law degree from William & Mary Law School. #mattgaetz #gaetz #attorneygeneral #justicedepartment #houseethicscommittee #trumpadministration #trumpappointee #trump #republicans - @pbsnews