Fetterman: Gaetz pick as Trump attorney general 'nothing but trolling'

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Wednesday called President-elect Trump’s pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), “nothing but trolling.”

"It’s just nothing but trolling. And, you know, even the Republicans know who he is,” Fetterman told reporters, when asked about Trump’s pick, in a clip aired on Fox News.

Fetterman urged reporters to ask his Republican colleagues for their response to Trump tapping Gaetz, who resigned from Congress on Wednesday night.

“We all know, you know, what the Democratic side’s going to be,” Fetterman said. “That’s where the interesting answers are going to come from, my colleagues on the GOP that are going to vote, or justify voting, for that mess."

Trump on Wednesday announced a series of nominations, including Gaetz for the top law enforcement post in the country. The announcement took many Senate Republicans by surprise, and some expressed skepticism that his nomination could get through the upper chamber.

Among the main concerns for some Senate Judiciary Committee members, and for senators in general, will be the Department of Justice’s years-long investigation into allegations that Gaetz had sex with an underage girl. The investigation was closed last year, and Gaetz was not criminally charged. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The House Ethics Committee, up until Gaetz’s resignation from Congress, was investigating whether the Florida Republican engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations. With Gaetz’s resignation, the panel no longer has jurisdiction but could still vote to release the report.