AJC on Trump’s AG pick: ‘Need someone who will tackle antisemitism, not peddle in it’

Leading Jewish groups come out against President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of far-right Florida Representative Matt Gaetz to be the next US attorney general, saying the congressman has trafficked in antisemitism.

“At a time of historic levels of antisemitism, we need someone at the helm of the Department of Justice who will tackle antisemitism — not peddle in it,” the American Jewish Committee says. “Matt Gaetz’s history of problematic remarks — including perpetuating antisemitic conspiracy theories — should be disqualifying for anyone seeking to be America’s top law enforcement officer.”

“We urge President-elect Trump to reconsider this nomination, otherwise the Senate has a responsibility to reject it.”

ADL head Jonathan Greenblatt similarly denounces Gaetz.

“Rep. Matt Gaetz has a long history of trafficking in antisemitism — from explaining his vote against the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act by invoking the centuries-old trope that Jews killed Jesus to defending the Great Replacement Theory and inviting a Holocaust denier as his 2018 State of the Union guest,” Greenblatt writes on Twitter. “He should not be appointed to any high office, much less one overseeing the impartial execution of our nation’s laws.”