Matt Gaetz faces high unfavorability ratings as ethics report battle plays out: Poll – Washington Examiner
A recent poll indicates that former Representative Matt Gaetz is facing significant unpopularity as he seeks to become the U.S. Attorney General, a position for which he has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump. According to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll, 37% of respondents view Gaetz unfavorably, while only 29% have a favorable opinion of him, with nearly 35% uncertain. This negative perception coincides with his difficulties in securing Senate confirmation, especially in light of ongoing concerns related to an ethics investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use. The House Ethics Committee, which had been expected to release its findings on Gaetz, is deliberating on whether to do so now that he has resigned from Congress and is no longer under their jurisdiction.
Matt Gaetz faces high unfavorability ratings as ethics report battle plays out: Poll
A new poll showed former Rep. Matt Gaetz is struggling with widespread unpopularity as he looks to become the country’s next attorney general.
Yahoo News/YouGov released a poll Tuesday showing that 37% of people have an unfavorable opinion of Gaetz, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Justice. The number compares to 29% of respondents who hold a favorable view of the Florida Republican and nearly 35% who are unsure about how they feel.
The negative public perception of Gaetz comes as he faces a rough road to the senate confirmation he will need in order to step into the coveted attorney general position in the incoming Trump administration.
He has spent the past week embroiled in conflict over a still-unreleased report from the House Ethics Committee.
The committee was originally set to release its findings into allegations of Gaetz’s sexual misconduct and illicit drug use last Friday. The ethics investigation was similar to a DOJ inquiry that the agency ultimately closed in February after concluding it had not found enough evidence to charge Gaetz with any crimes. After Gaetz resigned his House seat in anticipation of becoming Trump’s attorney general, the ethics report’s release was called into question, as the committee no longer had jurisdiction over him.
The ethics committee is meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss whether or not to release the report, the move coming as Washington lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on members to do so swiftly.
Further allegations of Gaetz’s sexual misconduct were leaked to the New York Times on Monday, causing additional drama in Washington, but Gaetz still has top Republicans on his side as he pleads innocent to all charges. From House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, critical Trump allies are pressing the GOP to coalesce behind Gaetz’s nomination.
While the nationwide poll released Tuesday indicated, at best, lackluster enthusiasm for Gaetz, he enjoys high popularity in his former home district. The attorney general nominee won reelection to Florida’s 1st congressional District by a margin of 32 percentage points earlier this month.
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