Morning Digest: Trump's strange nomination of Matt Gaetz got even stranger in a hurry

But Republicans are pushing a wild plan to ram him through anyway

Now-former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (credit: Matt Gaetz Facebook)

Leading Off

FL-01, FL-Gov

Republican politics descended deep into the bizarre on Wednesday when Donald Trump announced he would nominate Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as his attorney general, followed hours later by the news that Gaetz had resigned his post in Congress, effective immediately.

According to Speaker Mike Johnson, who just a day earlier had begged Trump to stop raiding the House for cabinet picks, Gaetz claimed he was stepping down so that Gov. Ron DeSantis could start the process of filling his deep-red district in the Florida Panhandle as soon as possible.

But soon after Johnson shared the news of Gaetz's departure at a press conference, Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman reported that the House Ethics Committee was scheduled to vote on whether to release a "highly damaging" report on the findings of its wide-ranging investigation into the congressman in two days.

While the committee can no longer punish the now-former representative, it could still publicize its report. Punchbowl's John Bresnahan says that the panel has declined to do so in similar situations in the past but notes that Gaetz and Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest, the committee's chair, "loathe each other." Gaetz also infuriated many fellow Republicans after he successfully pushed to oust Johnson's predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, as speaker last year.

The committee's report will also likely be of interest to Senate Republicans, many of whom greeted Gaetz's nomination with skepticism and even derision—even from some known for their loyalty to the MAGA cause. That hostile response prompted Punchbowl to report that Gaetz's hopes were "already in big trouble."

Trump, though, does appear to be aware that some of his more exotic picks might run into trouble in the Senate. On Sunday, he demanded that senators voluntarily give up their power to judge nominees by allowing him to make recess appointments, which don't require confirmation votes—a proposition that the GOP's new leader, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, said was "on the table."

As Semafor's Burgess Everett notes, Democrats could effectively filibuster any attempt by the Senate to go into recess and give Trump free rein. That may not be the end of the line, though. Even if the Senate is unable to recess, the House could potentially vote to do so. If the Senate then did not concur, that, according to some interpretations, could potentially allow Trump to order all of Congress to adjourn under Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution—a power no president has ever tested.

One conservative legal commentator, Ed Whelan, called the idea "bonkers" as to its merits but did not seem to question its viability. It's not clear, though, whether Johnson would acquiesce. But should his nomination fail, Gaetz might still have another act in him, since he'd be free to wage his long-speculated campaign to replace the termed-out DeSantis.

P.S. While Gaetz is resigning from the current Congress, he hasn't yet taken his seat in the next Congress that begins in January, so you might be asking how he can resign prospectively. It turns out that, while uncommon, such resignations have been permitted in the past, allowing governors to schedule special elections even before a member of the Senate or House has left office.

The Downballot Podcast

Trump makes the House even more ungovernable

While the House was just called for Republicans, the GOP's majority will be incredibly slender—and it's about to get worse. On this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard dive into two uncalled races that could flip to Democrats, further narrowing the GOP's advantage. But worse still is Donald Trump, who's been raiding the House for his cabinet, prompting Mike Johnson to beg him to stop. So what did Trump do? Why, he nominated Matt Gaetz for attorney general, of course.

The Downballot podcast comes out every Thursday morning everywhere you listen to podcasts. Click here to subscribe and to find a complete transcript!

Senate

FL-Sen

Donald Trump officially announced Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his nominee for secretary of state on Wednesday, a move that previously had been reported in the press. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis would get to appoint a successor if Rubio is confirmed by the Senate, with a special election taking place in Nov. 2026 for the final two years of his term. The seat would then be on the ballot again in 2028 for a full six-year term.

MI-Sen

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who's wrapping up a tough second term as chair of the DSCC after a successful first stint in 2022, has indicated he intends to seek reelection in two years' time.

Per Semafor's Burgess Everett, Peters said on Tuesday, "That's what my plan is" but cautioned that we "aren't even done" with the current cycle's elections. While Republicans have at least a 52-seat majority in the Senate, several media outlets including the New York Times have not called the race in Pennsylvania, where a recount has just been ordered (see our separate item below).

OH-Sen

Despite his painful 50-46 loss to Republican Bernie Moreno last week, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has not ruled out running in the Nov. 2026 special election that will be necessary to fill the final two years of J.D. Vance's term. When asked by HuffPost's Igor Bobic about the possibility, Brown said only, "I have not thought about that very much yet." According to the American Prospect's Robert Kuttner, the 72-year-old Brown also "might consider" a bid for DNC chair.

PA-Sen

Pennsylvania's top election official said on Wednesday that an automatic recount of the state's Senate race had been triggered thanks to the small gap between Republican Dave McCormick and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. McCormick currently leads 48.93% to 48.50%—a difference of 29,338 votes—which is inside the 0.5% margin under which state law mandates a recount.

Local officials must begin their review by Wednesday and conclude by 12 PM ET on Nov. 26. The outcome is unlikely to change, but according to the state, another 60,000 provisional ballots and 20,000 mail votes have yet to be tallied, though their validity is still being adjudicated.

NRSC

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott's colleagues chose him to serve as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2026 election cycle on Wednesday. Scott, who easily won his most recent bid for reelection in 2022, faced no opposition in his quest to lead the Senate GOP's official campaign arm. Democrats have yet to tap a new leader for their equivalent committee.

House

AZ-06, CA-41

Republicans will retain control of the House for the next two years after two late race calls on Wednesday confirmed they would win at least 218 seats, but the size of their majority is unlikely to budge compared to where it stood heading into Election Day.

The tipping-point contest came in California's 41st District, which the AP called on Wednesday afternoon for Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, who was leading Democrat Will Rollins 51-49 in a rematch of their close 2022 showdown.

Less than two hours earlier, in another repeat affair, Democrat Kristen Engel conceded to Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani in Arizona's 6th District. Ciscomani, who likewise survived a close encounter with Engel two years ago, is currently up 50-48.

Nine other tight races remain uncalled, with Democrats ahead in five and Republicans up in four, and most of those leads are unlikely to change. However, trends in late-counted votes have favored Democrat Derek Tran in California's 45th District, making it very possible he'll overtake GOP Rep. Michelle Steel. In addition, Democrat Adam Gray could potentially come from behind in California's 13th District, where he faces GOP Rep. John Duarte.

Should Tran succeed, Republicans would be on track to wind up with a 221-214 advantage in the House—identical to the split in the chamber since Democrats flipped New York's 3rd District in a February special election.

NY-21

Assemblyman Billy Jones, one of the few prominent Democrats in New York's North Country, isn't ruling out a bid to succeed Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik should she be confirmed as Donald Trump's new ambassador to the U.N.

Jones, who recently told the Daily Gazette's Tyler McNeil that there would be "plenty of time to talk about politics and all of that in the next several days and weeks to come," would face a steep climb in the conservative 21st District, but he wouldn't have to give up his current post to run in a special election.

Many local Republicans, meanwhile, continue to express interest in the race. Rep. Marc Molinaro, who finally conceded his 51-49 loss to Democrat Josh Riley in the neighboring 19th District a week after Election Day, told Spectrum News' Kevin Frey on Tuesday that he was "not done providing public service" and was "considering what options might be available to me."

When Frey pointed out that Molinaro's response was "not a no," the congressman nodded and walked away. The following day, Molinaro told Axios' Andrew Solender that "there are people who have reached out" to him about a possible bid.

Other possible contenders include Anthony Constantino, the CEO of a printing company called Sticker Mule, who tweeted that he's "strongly considering" a bid and followed up by promising he would "stand up in Congress for @realDonaldTrump just as I stood up for him during the 2024 campaign."

Constantino made waves earlier this year when he sent an email blast to his firm's four million subscribers exhorting them to support Trump, then feuded with city leaders in the company's hometown of Amsterdam over a giant illuminated pro-Trump sign he placed atop his headquarters that the mayor said violated municipal codes.

Local conservative activists also tell the Albany Times Union's Lucy Hodgman that they'd like to recruit former business owner Jeremy Messina, who just lost a challenge to Democratic Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner 55-45 last week. One supporter says Messina is "considering" the idea, something Messina appeared to confirm to McNeil.

Hodgman also adds that unnamed Republican "insiders" say former Newsmax host Joe Pinion is testing the waters for a bid. Pinion ran against Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer in 2022 and lost 57-43, which as Hodgman notes was the closest Senate race in the state since 2000.

Finally, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin is now sounding a bit warmer than he did previously, telling Times Union columnist Chris Churchill, "You take a look at what comes your way." However, while about 60% of Rensselaer County was in the previous version of the 21st District used in the 2022 elections, according to calculations from The Downballot, the current version no longer includes any part of the county.

Hodgman also lists a large number of other potential GOP candidates, but none have spoken publicly yet. Note that special election nominees for both parties would be chosen by local leaders rather than through primaries.

PA-10

Democrat Janelle Stelson, who lost a close race to Republican Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania's 10th District last week, has yet to say anything about a possible rematch, but one nearby member of Congress is talking her up for a second bid. Democratic Rep. Madeline Dean, who represents the 4th District, told Punchbowl's Mica Soellner that Stelson, a former TV anchor, would be an "excellent" option after falling short just 51-49 in the Harrisburg-based 10th.