By Illinois Review
On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he was nominating Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general – calling him “a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney” who would “end weaponized government, protect our borders, dismantle criminal organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered faith and confidence in the Justice Department.”
The pick caught many by surprise, but the President-elect is focused on cleaning up the DOJ, writing that Gaetz – who has been a staunch defender of the president, “will root out the systemic corruption at DOJ, and return the Department to its true mission of fighting crime, and upholding our Democracy and Constitution.”
During the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this past July, several members of the Illinois delegation turned their backs on Gaetz while he delivered a primetime address – a humiliating moment that was caught on national television and highlighted the dysfunction within the IL GOP rank and file. And no other delegations besides Illinois protested during any of the speeches that week – a week that was meant to show unity and strength.
Earlier in the day, outgoing Illinois RNC national committeeman Richard Porter was caught getting in an expletive-laden verbal altercation with Gaetz on the convention floor – a scene that went viral on social media and represented yet another black eye for the IL GOP and its delegation. Porter remains a close ally of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Gaetz – viewed as his political enemy, is partially responsible for his ouster as speaker. Tensions remained high – even then, and it clearly showed.
During the 2024 presidential primary, Porter – and several IL GOP leaders, including former gubernatorial candidate and state central committee member Jeanne Ives, threw their support behind Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign. And in a May, 2023 Facebook post, Porter wrote, “I am down in Miami helping DeSantis with his launch, and I am working the phones and emails to raise first day money for him — could you give today?”
Porter was also the chief architect of the failed Richard Irvin for govenor campaign, where they blew through $50 million and lost to the Trump-endorsed candidate by 43 points during the 2022 primary in Illinois.
On Wednesday, the president-elect also named former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as his pick to be the next Director of National Intelligence and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his nominee for Secretary of State.
