‘I Don’t Know How Successful Donald Trump Is Gonna Be at This’: Scott Jennings Skeptical of Trump’s Attempt To Save Gaetz

Republican strategist Scott Jennings sounded a pessimistic note on Matt Gaetz’s chances of being the next attorney general.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated the embattled Gaetz last week despite a recently completed House Ethics Committee investigation into the former congressman. The committee examined allegations that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl in 2017 when he was in his mid-30s. On Friday, the panel was to vote on whether to release its report, but took no action after Gaetz resigned from the House. Some senators – including at least one Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee – have said they want to see the report before they consider his nomination.

The Department of Justice also looked into the accusations, but declined to bring charges. Trump has reportedly been lobbying Republican senators on Gaetz’s behalf ahead of the confirmation hearing – that is, if the nomination isn’t withdrawn by then.

“Trump is working the phone himself for Gaetz calling senators,” host Wolf Blitzer noted on Tuesday’s episode of The Situation Room on CNN. “Is it good for the GOP, for Trump to spend his political capital forcing senators to vote for someone accused of paying a minor for sex?”

“Great question,” Jennings replied. “And obviously, there’s going to be tremendous resistance to Gaetz. And I don’t know how successful Donald Trump is gonna be at this. I mean, this goes beyond just the handful of senators who normally have problems with Donald Trump or who have feuded with him over issues in the past. I think the resistance to Gaetz goes into people who would say they strongly support Donald Trump, but have serious concerns about this.”

Jennings went on to say that Trump may be nearing the point where he decides to withdraw Gaetz’s nomination.

“And at some point, you know, when you’re the president and you’ve got a nominee for anything, you have to ask yourself, ‘Do I wanna suffer a defeat?'” he continued. “Most people don’t get defeated. They just withdraw from the process. It is obvious that all this information that’s coming out about Gaetz – whether the House Ethics Committee acts to release their report or not – is going to find its way into the hands of the Senate.”

Watch above via CNN.