Matt Gaetz names John Curtis among senators opposing nomination, sources say
Nov 22, 2024, 7:00 PM | Updated: Nov 23, 2024, 4:04 pm
Utah Rep. John Curtis watches as general election results come in during a watch party held by Curtis at the Provo Recreation Center in Provo on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Isaac Hale/Deseret News)
(Isaac Hale/Deseret News)
Update: On Nov. 23, Corey Norman, Chief of Staff for Senator-elect John Curtis (R-UT) released the following statement:
WASHINGTON — Following Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal as U.S. Attorney General nominee, the New York Times reported that Gaetz told people close to him that at least four Republican senators strongly opposed him.
On the list: Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Sen.-elect John Curtis of Utah.
However, Curtis’s team told Dave & Dujanovic that they didn’t know where the information in the report came from.
A member of Curtis’s team said that the senator-elect hadn’t met with Gaetz.
Curtis has never publicly said anything about opposing Gaetz as the U.S. Attorney General nominee.
His team issued the following statement when Gaetz was nominated:
“Senator-elect Curtis believes that every president is afforded a degree of deference to select his team and make nominations. He also firmly believes in and is committed to the Senate’s critical role to confirm or reject nominations based on information and insight from confirmation hearings. Curtis takes his constitutional duty to provide advice and consent seriously and his goal is to ensure that Utahns’ voices are heard. He plans to carefully examine the records and qualifications of every nominee President-elect Trump sends to the Senate.”
Political consultant and Inside Sources co-host Adam Gardiner shared his thoughts on Dave & Dujanovic.
“I actually think that John Curtis is like the consummate professional through all of this.”
Gardiner said Curtis had always kept the viewpoint that he’d wait for official hearings before making decisions on President-elect Donald Trump’s nominations.
Additionally, Gardiner believes that the number of Republicans opposed to Gaetz’s nomination was higher than just four.
“I’ve heard it’s 20 Republican Senators who have reservations because they’re not able to look at the ethics report from the House. And then when I checked with some of my sources in Washington DC, they’re saying, no, the number is more like 30.”
Related: Gaetz withdraws as Trump’s pick for attorney general
