Gaetz had not been floated as a nominee previously, leading his announcement to elicit total surprise from elected Republicans. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) called the nomination “an uff da,” a humorous Midwestern phrase for when hearing bad news.

The plan to make Gaetz attorney general reportedly came together just hours before it was announced while Trump was flying to Washington. Republican strategist Boris Epshteyn was a central advocate, and Gaetz was a passenger on the plane when the plan was formulated.

Observers have sought to wrap their heads around the controversial pick, suggesting a wide range of theories, from an elaborate test of loyalty to a serious proposition.

Here are the main theories circulated around Trump’s most controversial nomination:

Trump wants Gaetz

The problem-solving principle Occam’s Razor dictates that the easiest explanation for Trump’s nomination of Gaetz is that the president-elect simply wants him as attorney general.

Trump and Gaetz have similar grudges against the Justice Department, both having been the targets of DOJ investigations. Central to Trump’s decision to nominate Gaetz was his belief that the ex-Florida congressman would be vigorous in investigating those who had investigated him.

Gaetz’s pick is also in line with the common theme of new appointments — the valuing of loyalty above all else. Trump’s last two attorneys general, Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr, both fell out with him over perceived disloyalty. Trump likely feels that Gaetz would be fully loyal to him in his new role.

If pushed through to the position, Trump would have a loyal attack dog ready to enact his promised “retribution” against those he believes have wronged him.

Evidence for Trump’s desire for Gaetz to be attorney general was given by Trump insiders to the Bulwark, which published the appropriately titled article “Donald Trump Is Dead Serious About Getting Matt Gaetz to DOJ.”

“None of the attorneys had what Trump wants, and they didn’t talk like Gaetz,” a Trump adviser told the outlet. “Everyone else looked at AG as if they were applying for a judicial appointment. They talked about their vaunted legal theories and constitutional bulls***. Gaetz was the only one who said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go over there and start cuttin’ f****n’ heads.’”

According to the outlet, it wasn’t a coincidence that the choice of Gaetz came as a shock to Republicans — he hadn’t been on the short list as late as Monday.

Trump is also reportedly looking for ways to circumvent the Senate approval process, something hinted at by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).

Trump is using Gaetz as a sacrificial lamb

According to one of two versions of this theory, Trump believes that Gaetz’s nomination is dead on arrival. The true purpose of putting him forth is to give the centrist wing of the Senate Republicans cover before the 2026 elections, allowing them to appear principled and independent by rejecting Trump’s nominee.

The other version of this theory is that Gaetz is being used as a sacrificial lamb to push through a slightly more centrist attorney general pick. Politico reported that several elected Republicans subscribe to this theory.

The focus on Gaetz notably knocked the air out of previous outrage over Trump’s other Cabinet nominees — Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. To show the Senate is not in Trump’s pocket, senators may show force by rejecting Gaetz’s nomination but then let other controversial picks sail through.

The Washington Examiner’s Tiana Lowe Doescher subscribes to the version of the theory that Trump is giving cover to centrist Senate Republicans.

“As a sacrificial lamb, Gaetz’s nomination may be very well intended to fail to give the centrist wing of the party cover when political opponents try to accuse them of rubber-stamping all of Trump’s appointments,” she wrote.

“In other words, the Gaetz nomination might be so outlandish and unbelievable because it is supposed to be,” she added. “Gaetz might be the lightning rod designed to absorb all the outrage Democrats and their consiglieres in the media were going to exude regardless, a fall guy to give the crucial swing votes in the Senate political cover come 2026, and a reminder to the public that Trump will never stop surprising us.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to Gaetz for comment.

Trump is issuing Senate Republicans a loyalty test

This theory, first floated by New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, has Trump putting forth his own Kobayashi Maru test. This famous test, featured in Star Trek, presented commanders with an impossible situation, intended not to be solved but rather to show how the subject would deal with an impossible scenario.

In this version, the president-elect is putting forward a loyalty test for Senate Republicans, whose loyalty is on the line after they chose Sen. John Thune (R-SD) as their new leader, despite Trump’s preference for Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). Trump’s allies view it as a test of whether they will serve the popular mandate he won, while detractors view it as a test of who still has principles.

Thune said he would approve of recess appointments if elected as Senate leader. His word will now be put to the test. Republicans loyal to Trump will approve of Gaetz over any personal objections, while those who vote against him will be seen as disloyal.

Klein said Trump believes the nomination of Gaetz to be intentionally absurd.

“Demanding Senate Republicans back Gaetz as attorney general and Hegseth as Defense Secretary is the 2024 version of forcing Sean Spicer to say it was the largest inauguration crowd ever,” Klein said in a post on X. “These aren’t just appointments. They’re loyalty tests. The absurdity is the point.”

Trump is aiming to humiliate the Senate

A similar theory to the loyalty test theory, this one holds that Trump is intentionally trying to humiliate the Senate. In this view, Trump will hold true to his campaign promise to be voters’ “retribution,” punishing the Senate by presenting members with the prospect of confirming a pick they personally object to or voting against and risking the wrath of their Trump-loving bases.

According to the theory, the serious debate over whether to approve Gaetz would delegitimize the Senate, bringing it further under his sway.

Former national security adviser John Bolton compared Gaetz’s nomination to the legend of the Roman Emperor Caligula nominating his horse as consul.

“You had to be a Roman senator at the time to be a consul, and it was intended to show how demeaned and degraded the Roman Senate had become,” he said, deriding Gaetz as the “worst cabinet-level appointment in history.”

Axios described Gaetz as “Trump’s middle finger to critics.”

Trump is giving Gaetz a way out his anticipated ethics report

This theory, prominent among elected Republicans, according to Politico, has Gaetz’s preemptive resignation as a way to get out of the possible release of his House ethics report. The House was due to vote on whether to release the report soon.

The House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gaetz will now cease, as he is no longer a member of Congress, and the report will likely not be released. A previous DOJ investigation was dropped over a lack of evidence.

Though the jury is out as to whether Trump was aware of the incoming ethics report, this theory holds that the president-elect was very much aware and is offering his longtime ally a respectable way out of Congress before it was released.

This theory has been paired with the “sacrificial lamb” theory, with Trump getting something in return. Gaetz will circumvent his ethics report, while Trump will be able to push through a slightly more centrist candidate for the attorney general, one who would have previously looked too radical when not held in comparison to Gaetz.

A more outlandish version gets more technical — some believe Gaetz could only be resigning from this Congress only to retake his office in January 2025 when the next Congress is sworn in.

In garnering his firebrand reputation, Gaetz also became one of the most hated men in the House, forming an infamous personal rivalry with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He was instrumental in unseating McCarthy, which led to his retirement from the House.

Some have joked that Trump is doing another ally, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), a favor in removing one of the House’s most outspoken members.