Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) called out President-elect Donald Trump for nominating Matt Gaetz to be attorney general after the pick prompted widespread backlash.
Trump tapped Gaetz as his choice to head the Department of Justice earlier this month amid the House Ethics Committee’s open investigation into the congressman over allegations of sexual misconduct, including accusations of sex with a minor at a 2017 party.
Gaetz withdrew his nomination last week, saying on X (formerly Twitter) that the controversy over his nomination was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work” of Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s transition into the White House.
“I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history,” he added in the Nov. 21 post. “I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
While appearing on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Christie — once part of Trump’s inner circle — called Gaetz an “abominable pick” while giving props to Trump’s other Cabinet nominees.
“There’s a number of these nominees that are actually quite good. Doug Burgum, I’ve known him for a long time. He will do a really solid job,” Christie told host Jonathan Karl, referring to the governor of North Dakota who is Trump’s pick to run the Interior Department.
He went on to praise former White House aide Brooke Rollins as Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Agriculture, noting she’s a “bright woman” who “will do a really good job at agriculture.”
Christie then claimed to Karl that “there’s too much hysteria” over Trump’s Cabinet nominees before slamming him for nominating Gaetz.
“Matt Gaetz was an abominable pick, and it was Donald Trump over-reading his mandate,” Christie said. “Well, he got smacked back. So we’ll see what happens.”
Democracy In The Balance
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Shortly after Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration last week, Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be the next attorney general.
“Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families,” Trump wrote in a Nov. 21 post announcing his choice.
Watch a clip from Christie’s appearance below.