Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Trump AG nominee Matt Gaetz has left a trail of antisemitic comments

Gaetz voted against the Antisemitism Awareness Act because it rejected the Christian ‘gospel’ that Jews killed Jesus

Matt Gaetz announced Nov. 21 that we was withdrawing as the nominee for Attorney General, saying his confirmation was a distraction from the “critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”

President-elect Donald Trump raised eyebrows Wednesday when he nominated Matt Gaetz, a Floridian whose years in the House were marked by allegations including sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, to head the Justice Department. Gaetz resigned his House seat shortly after Trump’s announcement and two days before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on releasing its investigation report on his conduct.

Gaetz, who with other renegade GOP colleagues has tried to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, is widely disliked within Congress, and Jewish groups have long accused him of trafficking in antisemitism. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said Gaetz should never be confirmed as attorney general. “He should not be appointed to any high office, much less one overseeing the impartial execution of our nation’s laws,” Greenblatt tweeted.

Gaetz, 42, faced backlash earlier this year when he explained his vote against a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing rising antisemitism in colleges and universities by invoking an antisemitic falsehood: that Jews killed Jesus.

The Antisemitism Awareness Act would require the Department of Education to use the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism — which classifies most anti-Zionism as antisemitic — when investigating allegations of discrimination. It passed the House in May 320-91.

The Justice Department oversees the prosecution of violent extremism and hate crimes. If confirmed by the Senate, Gaetz would succeed Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Jewish former federal judge.

A history of controversial remarks and action

Gaetz called the Anti-Defamation League “racist” in 2021 after it urged Fox News to fire then-host Tucker Carlson for promoting the antisemitic great replacement theory. In 2019, Gaetz suggested that George Soros, the Hungarian-born Jewish billionaire and frequent target of antisemitic tropes, was behind an alleged migrant caravan.

In his first term in the House, Gaetz defended giving a ticket for the State of the Union to Chuck Johnson, a right-wing troll who once denied the Holocaust. He also hired a Trump White House speechwriter who was fired after it was reported he appeared at a conference featuring a white nationalist.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing in November 2023, Gaetz grilled Pamela Nadell, the director of the Jewish studies program at American University, over whether it was possible to criticize Jewish megadonor and Holocaust survivor George Soros without being antisemitic.

Greenblatt took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to blast the nomination.

Amy Spitalnick, chief executive of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said it was “deeply concerning ” that Gaetz was nominated with this history. “If he is to serve as attorney general, he should unequivocally make clear that he rejects all forms of hate and bigotry,” she said.

Rep. Max Miller, a Jewish Republican from Ohio, also blasted the nomination. “Gaetz has a better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II than being confirmed by the Senate,” Miller said, adding that Gaetz is “a reckless pick” with “a zero percent shot.”

The American Jewish Committee urged Trump to reconsider the nomination, calling Gaetz’s past remarks “disqualifying” for being the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. “At a time of historic levels of antisemitism, we need someone at the helm of the Department of Justice who will tackle antisemitism — not peddle in it,” the AJC said.

JTA contributed to this report.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.