Kinzinger says he'd be 'surprised' if Gaetz gets confirmed

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) admitted he would be “surprised” if Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), President-elect Trump’s pick for attorney general gets confirmed, joining a crowd of doubters that include Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and others.

“I’d actually be surprised if Gaetz gets confirmed,” Kinzinger told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday in the clip highlighted by Mediate.

“That’s why I was surprised he resigned in the House because he’s not gonna have anything to fall back on, but he’ll go be a Fox News commentator or something.”

He questioned the Senate’s stance on confirmations for Gaetz and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was nominated for the role of Secretary of Health and Human Services, admitting that many key GOP lawmakers are up for re-election and may not be looking to rock the boat.

“A lot of the sane Senate Republicans – particularly those who voted to remove Donald Trump, they’re up for reelection,” Kinzinger stated. “So now it becomes a whole different ball game. Will they resist RFK on vaccines? I don’t know.”

Democrats have raised their own concerns with the new appointments, questioning the candidates' reliability and experience as qualifying factors for confirmation.