Steve Bannon lamented former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz's withdrawal as President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, saying there is now "blood in the water" for moderate and establishment Republicans to block Trump's MAGA agenda.
Bannon, a former Trump adviser, said on his War Room podcast that some Senate Republicans are not showing support for Trump's Cabinet picks following his "landslide" election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
The nomination of Gaetz, a Trump loyalist with limited professional legal experience, to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) was criticized as an indication that the president-elect would use the federal government to seek retribution next year. Bannon previously told NBC News that Trump is going to "hit the Justice Department with a blowtorch, and Matt Gaetz is that torch" if he is confirmed by the Senate.
Gaetz reportedly told senators concerned about his suitability to be attorney general that he would not go after Trump's political enemies, such as MSNBC and former White House health official Dr. Anthony Fauci, in order to appease their skepticism, according to The Bulwark. The former congressman, who was under a sexual misconduct investigation from the House Ethics Committee, allegedly withdrew his nomination after realizing he would not achieve enough GOP support in the upper chamber to get the 50 votes needed for confirmation.
Bannon described Gaetz's withdrawal as a "victory" for establishment figures such as GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell while adding that the MAGA movement needs to be more ruthless to prevent the government from "Trump-proofing" next year.
"We've got to face the facts. There's blood in the water, and they smell the blood," Bannon said. "They understand that we could either all hang together, or we're going to hang separately. They get this. This is why they're going to try to drive wedges in and try to cull the herd."
Newsweek has contacted McConnell's office and a spokesperson for Gaetz for comment via email.
McConnell was one of at least five current and future GOP senators who said they would not support Gaetz for attorney general. The others were Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Oklahoma's Markwayne Mullin and Senator-elect John Curtis of Utah, according to NBC News.
With the GOP controlling the upper chamber next year with a 53-47 seat majority, Gaetz could not afford more than three Republican senators to vote against his nomination.
Elsewhere on his podcast, Bannon urged Trump and other MAGA figures to unite in order to overcome other "speed bumps" they may face in the future within the GOP and the Democratic Party.
Bannon also described Gaetz as one of the "five horsemen of the Deep State apocalypse" who were in line to be part of the next administration, but now only four are left.
"Trump took a bullet to the head and won in a landslide. They don't hold the House, and they certainly don't take the Senate. It's all Trump," Bannon said. "And already they're reasserting themselves, they're reasserting non-MAGA."
"Please, Mr President, understand that the people around you are telling you this is OK," Bannon added. "You're not going to get anything done unless we force your will upon it, and we can. It's not going to happen.
"Let's see who's tough enough. We're tougher than them if we get organized and say, 'Guess what, no more.'"
Gaetz said his nomination was "unfairly becoming a distraction" to the Trump-Vance transition team.
There is still a debate on whether the House Ethics Committee report, said to detail allegations he had sex with a 17-year-old girl while in office, should be made public. Gaetz has denied the allegations.
Gaetz was under DOJ investigation over allegations that he had sex with a teenage girl and paid for her to travel with him, including across state lines for prostitution. No charges were brought against Gaetz, and he denies all allegations against him.
Hours after Gaetz withdrew his nomination, Trump named former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his pick to lead the DOJ.
Bondi, another Trump loyalist with decades of legal experience and none of the baggage of Gaetz, is expected to have a clearer path to confirmation by the Senate as the next attorney general.
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