Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was reportedly the secret liaison last month who told President-elect Donald Trump that his pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, didn’t have enough votes to be confirmed in the Senate — leading to a change of strategy for subsequent nominees like Defense Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth.
Cruz, 53, met with Gaetz (R-Fla.) amid a firestorm of sexual misconduct allegations — including a since-buried House Ethics Committee report on accusations that he had sex with a minor in 2017 — and later told the 45th president his nominee didn’t have the numbers, Politico reported.
Trump, 78, then called his attorney general-designate the morning after his talk with Cruz to say, “I don’t think you’ve got a path,” per the outlet.
As Texas’ former solicitor general, Cruz also conveyed reservations about the Florida Republican taking the top law enforcement post in the second Trump administration, people familiar with the discussion told Politico.
The new reported details come weeks after The Post learned that there was a private whip count shared and relayed to Trump and Gaetz that also showed no path forward for the AG pick.
Cruz was with Trump during the deliberations. They both attended Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket launch in Texas on Nov. 19, possibly having the opportunity to talk then.
Gaetz, 42, withdrew from the confirmation fight two days later.
A Trump transition spokesperson said at the time that it was solely Gaetz’s choice.
The ex-GOP rep had withdrawn his name just one day after meeting with GOP senators on the Hill as well.
Gaetz indicated in his outgoing statement that the interest in his potentially damning ethics report and the swirling allegations about his past would distract from the nomination process for Trump.
He did not reveal exactly how he came to that decision.
“It is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” he wrote on X.
“There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General,” Gaetz added. “Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
Trump’s transition team has since taken a more public approach to pressuring senators to stay in line with appointments going forward.
Notably, the once and future president has indicated no loss of confidence in his Pentagon pick, proclaiming Hegseth “a WINNER.”
“Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last week.
“He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind. He will be a fantastic, high-energy, Secretary of Defense,” he added, saying the former Fox News personality will be “one who leads with charisma and skill.”
Neither Cruz nor the Trump transition team responded to inquiries from The Post on whether such a conversation took place.
Gaetz, who is now going to host a show on One American News Network, also did not respond to an inquiry.
