Anxiety and dismay inside the Justice Department after Trump taps Gaetz as attorney general

Gaetz has claimed the department is 'corrupt and highly political,' and strongly criticized the federal prosecutions of Trump and the Jan. 6 rioters

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s choice of Matt Gaetz to be attorney general has many Justice Department employees reeling, worried not only about their own jobs but the future of the agency that the Trump loyalist has railed against.

The president-elect’s pick of the Florida Republican sent a shock throughout the Cabinet department, considering Gaetz’s lack of experience in law enforcement and the fact that he was once the subject of a federal sex trafficking investigation. The names of well-regarded veteran lawyers had circulated as possible contenders for the job, but Gaetz’s selection was broadly interpreted as an indication of the premium that Trump places on personal loyalty and Trump’s desire to have a disruptor lead a department that for years investigated and ultimately indicted him.