Republican Ron Johnson likens accused sex trafficker Matt Gaetz to trans official Rachel Levine

To U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, being accused of sex with a minor is like being transgender or gender-fluid.

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Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, answered reporters’ queries on Donald Trump’s controversial nomination of Matt Gaetz as attorney general last week by showing them a photo of Adm. Rachel Levine, the trans woman who is assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services, and Sam Brinton, a gender-fluid former official in the Department of Energy. “Did you harass Democratic senators on those nominees?” he asked, according to the conservative Washington Times and other sources.

Trump has nominated Gaetz, a Florida Republican who has just resigned from the U.S. House, to lead the Department of Justice even though he has little experience in law. He is among numerous Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominees who appear to have been chosen more for their loyalty to Trump than for their qualifications.

Gaetz has been the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee over claims he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, who he allegedly paid to travel with him, as well as lobbying violations. His former best friend, Joel Greenberg, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in May 2021 after pleading guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and sex trafficking a minor. Greenberg was a witness in the investigation and claimed that Gaetz was involved in many of his crimes. However, Gaetz’s resignation of his House seat means the Ethics Committee no longer has jurisdiction over him, so it may keep the committee from releasing the report.

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Levine, who was nominated by President Joe Biden to her position, is the first out transgender person to hold a Senate-confirmed post. Before joining HHS, she was secretary of health in Pennsylvania, where she received much praise of her leadership in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Most Republicans opposed her confirmation, and during the process, she was subjected to an anti-trans rant by GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Brinton was deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy from June to December 2022. Brinton was a career civil service employee, not nominated by the president nor subject to Senate confirmation. They lost their job after being accused of luggage theft at two airports. In February 2023, they were charged in a third theft, in which they agreed to a plea deal and received a sentence of community service.

The Ethics Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss whether to release the report on Gaetz, according to multiple sources. Since Republicans have a majority on the committee, it’s likely the report won’t be made public. But even some Republicans are joining Democrats in pushing for its release. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

His nomination as attorney general is subject to Senate confirmation. When the new Senate is seated in January, it will have a Republican majority too. But again, some Republicans may join Democrats in opposing his confirmation. Trump may try to do a recess appointment, meaning that while the Senate is adjourned, he could put his nominees through. But the Senate may not agree to go into recess.

Republican U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma made similar comments about Levine and Brinton while appearing Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. However, he did say the Ethics Committee report on Gaetz should be released.

Joel Leppard, an attorney who represents two women who’ve accused Gaetz of sexual misconduct, is making the rounds of media calling for release of the report. The report may be leaked to the press even if the committee doesn’t formally release it.

Another Trump nominee, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who is up for secretary of Defense, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Monterey, Calif., in 2017. No charges were filed, but when the accuser threatened to sue Hegseth in 2020, he made a payment to her as part of a nondisclosure agreement, The Washington Postand other outlets report. The amount was not disclosed, and Hegseth has said they had a consensual sexual encounter.