American Banker, November 14, 2024, What would Matt Gaetz as attorney general mean for banks?
Regardless of whether Republicans will vote to confirm Gaetz given the allegations against him, his stance as a skeptic of mergers and his previous work investigating banks as part of his House committee assignment shows that the Trump administration is embracing the increasing importance of economic populism in the Republican party in a way Trump didn’t in his first term.
“Certainly you could take from it that Trump is not afraid to nominate someone who has pretty strong antitrust views, and pretty strong views on big business in general,” said Jesse Van Tol, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.
While Van Tol said that it’s unlikely that Gaetz survives Senate confirmation, the willingness of the Trump administration to pick one of the Republican antitrust movement’s most outspoken supporters speaks volumes.
