Gaetz, as lawmaker, sought changes in Justice Department policy

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz as a lawmaker pushed for measures to change — and sometimes drastically curtail — the policies and power of the Justice Department under the Biden administration, offering a window into how he might lead the sprawling agency as attorney general.

The Florida Republican’s legislation and track record in Congress is in the spotlight as Donald Trump’s pick for the pivotal position, with the president-elect vowing to “root out the sickness” inside the Justice Department.

If confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement officer, the 42-year-old could advocate for certain funding priorities, implement sweeping internal changes, and shift policy on topics like immigration, voting rights, drug trafficking, antitrust enforcement, white-collar crime, firearm regulations and more.

Jamil N. Jaffer, who worked at the Justice Department and White House during the George W. Bush administration, said the gravity of the role comes with involvement in prosecution decisions and prosecutorial policy, internal legal advice to the government, and big-picture policy issues on national security and law enforcement.

“The Office of the Attorney General of the United States could not be a more consequential role when it comes to critical law enforcement, prosecutorial and national security decisions,” Jaffer, now executive director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s law school, said.

Gaetz introduced legislation in 2023 that would eliminate the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a $1.6 billion agency tasked with regulating firearm dealers and helping fight gun crimes.

As attorney general, Gaetz would oversee the ATF and could shape enforcement priorities, propose cutting rules for firearm dealers and scrap tougher gun regulations rolled out under the Biden administration.

“There is no timeline in which the ATF, under any administration, would become an ally. It needs to go,” Gaetz said in a February 2023 floor speech. “We need to abolish the ATF before they abolish our Second Amendment rights.”

Gaetz introduced a “Stand Your Ground” bill that would have provided affirmative defenses for individuals who use force in self-defense or to prevent imminent death.

And speaking at a conservative conference in March 2023, Gaetz said: “We either get this government back on our side or we defund and get rid of, abolish the FBI, CDC, ATF, DOJ — every last one of them if they do not come to heel.”

Immigration, special counsel

In the House, Gaetz this year introduced tough-on-immigration legislation such as a bill to allow courts to award restitution for unlawful entry and presence in the United States, and another to strip tax-exempt status from entities that provide goods or services to noncitizens.

As attorney general, Gaetz would have the power to shape the outcomes on pending deportation and asylum cases, Austin Kocher, a research assistant professor at Syracuse University, said on social media.

“One unique power that the AG has is to review deportation cases on appeal to himself and then basically decide whatever he wants with no real accountability whatsoever,” Kocher wrote. “You can fully expect Gaetz to use this power the way that Trump‘s AG’s did during his first administration.”

On voting rights, Gaetz also introduced legislation aimed at changing the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to clarify that states have the authority to remove noncitizens from the official lists of eligible voters — an issue Trump championed during the campaign. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote.

And Gaetz introduced bills that sought to pare back criminal consequences against those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and go after the funding for Special Counsel John L. “Jack” Smith’s office, which bought the two federal criminal cases against Trump.

Gaetz introduced a bill to prohibit expending funds for Smith’s office, which charged Trump in connection with his role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and for allegedly mishandling classified documents after his first term.

Gaetz as head of the department could change the direction of prosecutions against those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Gaetz introduced a bill that his office said would make sure federal prosecutors do not “retaliate” against the defendants if they petition for resentencing, in light of a Supreme Court ruling that limited how prosecutors can use an obstruction statute against hundreds of cases tied to the attack.

FBI and surveillance

Changes could also come to the FBI under a potential Attorney General Gaetz. He’s been fiercely critical of the agency, including its use of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The powerful spy authority allows the U.S. government to collect digital communications of foreigners located outside the country. But the program also sweeps up the communications of Americans and allows the FBI to search through data without a warrant using information such as an email address.

Intelligence community officials have described the authority as a critical tool in protecting national security.

Gaetz, joining a bipartisan coalition on the House Judiciary panel, voted for a committee bill that would renew the authority but would also insert a warrant requirement for information on Americans — an idea vehemently opposed by the FBI.

The Florida Republican, in a 2023 press release, said there’s been a “blatant misuse of warrantless surveillance powers” targeting the communications of Americans.

“We must uphold national security without sacrificing the constitutional rights of our fellow Americans,” he said.

Gaetz could also potentially sway a project to build a new FBI headquarters.

Last year, the House voted on an amendment from Gaetz that would stop funds in a fiscal 2024 Financial Services spending bill from being used to acquire property for a new fully consolidated FBI headquarters. A total of 145 House Republicans voted for the amendment, but it was defeated with Democrats and 70 Republicans voting against it.

“It is not my grave concern that the FBI’s building is crumbling. It is my grave concern that the civil liberties of Americans are crumbling,” Gaetz said on the floor. “And I wish we were more worried about that and less worried about whether or not we got new carpet and wallpaper at the FBI building.”