Bannon blames McConnell for Gaetz withdrawal as Trump AG

Steve Bannon, a key ally and ex-adviser to President-elect Trump, placed the blame for former Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-Fla.) decision to withdraw from consideration after he was tapped to lead the Justice Department on Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

“You gotta give the devil its due,” Bannon told The Dispatch's Michael Warren, referring to McConnell, while also advocating that the GOP needs to "be more aggressive" to ensure key nominees are appointed and confirmed when Trump returns to the White House in January.

“I think we have to get a lot more aggressive. I think [the transition] has to be more aggressive,” he said during the interview, released Tuesday, and highlighted by Mediaite.

“[Trump] selected controversial candidates, including a couple of Democrats that are quite controversial and quite controversial to be accepted by traditionally hidebound, standard-stock, Republican establishment, the established order of the Republican Party, which is still infesting the Senate, and they’re not going to just sit there and say, ‘Oh, this is terrific,’” he added.

He continued, calling establishment Republicans, including the Kentucky senator, "anti-populist and anti-economic nationalists."

"And they’re going to show the donor class, which is really who they report to, that they can stop Trump, and they’re going to try to stop Trump in the U.S. Senate," Bannon said.

The GOP strategist said Republicans need to send strong signals to those that step out of line that they could be challenged during upcoming elections.

“You have to put them on notice by developing candidates right now and [let] them know every day on these shows that if you don’t stand tall and support President Trump’s candidates, you’re going to be primaried,” Bannon said in Tuesday's interview.

Gaetz was under intense scrutiny over past investigations by the Justice Department and the House Ethics Committee over a broad sex trafficking probe and alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. The Florida Republican has denied any wrongdoing.

Amid pressure on the Ethics Committee to release the report to the public and after meeting with GOP senators, Gaetz announced his decision to withdraw his name, claiming he didn't want to be a distraction for the other nominees. Following the news, Bannon called the move a "casualty" for the incoming Trump administration.

"We took a casualty today. One of the best warriors we have, in all his imperfections — and he’s quite imperfect, as Donald Trump is imperfect, as Stephen K. Bannon is super imperfect,” he said on his “War Room” podcast.

“Very, very, very imperfect instruments. But in that imperfection is some of their power,” Bannon added later.

The president-elect later named former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to the post instead.

Gaetz, who resigned from Congress following Trump's initial nomination, won reelection to his Florida seat earlier this month. However, he said he would not return to Congress for the next session.