Trump Finds Out How Hard He Won't Be a Dictator as Matt Goetz's Nomination Implodes

Senate Republicans won the first round of a power struggle with Trump as the president-elect's attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz, dropped out of the debate.

Gaetz published in X. “It is clear that my confirmation was an unfair distraction from the important work of the Trump/Vance transition. There is no time to waste on an unnecessarily protracted fight in Washington, so I will withdraw my name from consideration for the position of Attorney General. Trump's DOJ must be in place and ready 1- on the day”.

Trump The staff is trying to soft sell the withdrawal because four Republican senators oppose Gaetz. The reality is that more than half of the Republican senators opposed Gaetz, and even Trump's threats weren't enough to sway them.

Trump received a cold hard lesson in the limits of his power. Donald Trump will not be able to pick his cabinet or be a dictator because the Senate, both Republicans and Democrats, are unwilling to give up his power. If Trump wants to get things done, he will need the Senate, and the Senate will still need 60 votes to pass legislation. :

Gaetz's nomination was Trump's test to see if he could get the Senate to cede its power to him. The Senate did not go for it.Trump has two other nominees for defense secretary and HHS secretary who will face uphill confirmation battles.

RFK Jr. may be the next Trump nominee to drop out, but the implosion of the Gaetz nomination shows that Trump won't waltz in and be a dictator, and there are still some constitutional principles.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also the White House Press Center and Congressional Correspondent at PoliticusUSA.Jason holds a BA in Political Science with a focus on public policy, specializing in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association