Graham on Gaetz nomination: ‘Give Matt a chance’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) urged his fellow Republicans to “give Matt a chance” after President-elect Trump nominated former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to lead his Justice Department, sending shockwaves through Capitol Hill.

With less than 70 days before Trump returns to the White House, he has begun assembling his team, Gaetz being one of the more surprising choices.

“So, we’re going to give the president a chance to put his people forward. To every Republican: Give Matt a chance,” Graham said Wednesday on Fox News’s "Hannity."

Trump’s nomination of Gaetz was a shocking signal that he intends to follow through with his campaign promises; Gaetz resigned from Congress immediately after receiving the nomination.

“I say elections have consequences when Republicans don’t like it, and I’m telling my Democratic friends, elections have consequences whether you like it or not,” Graham told host Sean Hannity in the interview highlighted by Mediaite.

Gaetz, who has been the subject of a Justice Department investigation in the past, has been a staunch ally of the president-elect. Critics have long expressed concerns that the department could go after Trump’s political enemies, as he suggested while on the campaign trail.

Graham argued the accusations against Gaetz are the “very thing” Democrats did, including lie under oath and signing FISA warrants based on Russian disinformation.

Others are less supportive of Trump's decision. Some Republican senators were surprised by the move, and Democrats have argued it's a "red alert moment" for American democracy.