Donald Trump gets a brutal reality check

    The resistance from Senate Republicans to Matt Gaetz’s nomination proved that there are still some checks on President-elect Donald Trump.

 The collapse of Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general highlights that the president-elect’s influence has limits, even with Republican control of government. Despite the GOP trifecta, the failed nomination exposes the boundaries of Trump’s power. Gaetz’s candidacy, which lasted only eight days, underscores a significant reality for the president-elect: his authority is not absolute, despite his claims of a sweeping mandate following a narrow popular vote victory.


“The short version is ‘checks and balances work,’” said Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA.

While Republicans will control both chambers of Congress, the Senate’s rejection of Gaetz demonstrates that some constraints on Trump remain. This counters fears on the left that Congress would capitulate entirely, allowing Trump unchecked authority to push through his agenda, with support from a conservative-dominated Supreme Court.


“This shows that Donald Trump cannot simply get whatever he wants,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley’s School of Law.

Chemerinsky and others, however, caution against overinterpreting the Gaetz episode. Gaetz’s unpopularity, compounded by numerous legal and political scandals, made his nomination especially vulnerable. His failure might not signal broader resistance to Trump’s other appointments, particularly for less controversial roles.


If Trump succeeds in confirming his other nominees, the Gaetz debacle may ultimately be an outlier rather than a pattern. Edward Foley, a constitutional law expert at Ohio State University, noted that such successes would highlight Congress’s failure to resist presidential pressure.


“The Senate will have fallen short by its own standards for evaluating nominees and resisting executive overreach,” Foley said.

Trump’s insistence on pushing Gaetz’s nomination despite its unpopularity reveals his determination to project dominance over his party. Just 16 days into his presidency, Trump is moving rapidly to install allies in powerful positions, vowing aggressive executive action on issues ranging from mass deportations to pardons for January 6 rioters. The attorney general post, in particular, would be key to dismantling investigations into Trump’s own legal issues.


Despite the uphill battle, Trump leaned heavily into the Gaetz nomination. He personally lobbied senators and enlisted Vice President-elect J.D. Vance to rally support on Capitol Hill. Yet the Senate ultimately balked at confirming Gaetz, one of Trump’s most loyal defenders, to a position critical to the president’s legal and political strategy.


Sen. Chuck Grassley likened the episode to Bill Clinton’s struggles to confirm an attorney general, noting that Trump’s ability to push through controversial nominees appears no greater than Clinton’s was decades ago.

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