Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Utah Sen. Mike Lee met with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, inside the Senate.
Both Republican senators said the confirmation hearing would allow Gaetz to answer questions about misconduct allegations against him.
“My view is that we ought to move forward with this, do the hearing, let him respond to everything under oath,” Hawley said. “Give him a shot.”
“He’s denied everything, but the hearing is an opportunity for him to under oath in front of everybody, to walk through it,” Hawley said.
Hawley said he had already spoken to Gaetz on the phone and that he speaks to Trump “all the time,” but wouldn’t offer details of their conversations.
After meeting with Gaetz, Hawley said that he did not ask the former Florida congressman about allegations that he had sex with a minor — but said that he does not believe they are credible.
“He’s denied it,” Hawley reiterated. “But listen, I mean, this is why we’ll have a hearing, I hope — in which I’m sure he’ll be asked that under oath, so he’ll have a chance to respond.”
Walking out of the meeting, Hawley told reporters his intention is to vote for all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees and said those with concerns about Gaetz should give him the chance to answer them.
Lee noted, after the meeting, that Gaetz, “did spend a number of minutes talking about the unfairness and the lack of truth of the allegations being pursued by the committee, and the fact that the DOJ didn’t prosecute.” Lee, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, added that Gaetz is “confident in his own ability to win over senators and to get confirmed.”
GOP Sen. John Cornyn said that Gaetz is entitled to a “fair process.” He said this is the “beginning of the conversation” with Gaetz, adding that he’s never met the Florida Republican before today. “So no prejudgments. We’re going to do our investigations, our research and give him the opportunity to answer questions,” he told reporters upon leaving the meeting on Capitol Hill with Vance and Gaetz.
This post has been updated with additional details.