Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has at times been a lightning rod within his party, which explains why some Republican senators expressed doubts anonymously it will be confirmed as Donald Trumpis the next attorney general.

But veteran journalists in Washington, DC, are less convinced that Republicans will defy Trump and block his nomination.

“What I’m hearing privately from a few key GOP senators: Yes, they would prefer not to have a complicated fight over Gaetz. Not their favorite. But they also don’t have much energy to react. Trump is running the show, they say. If Gaetz can reassure them, they are willing to support him,” Robert Costa of CBS News told X on Thursday.

“Does anyone really believe the R senators are going to reject Gaetz’s nomination? I would say the chances of this happening are pretty low, but not impossible,” Sam Stein of the Bulwark posted a day earlier.

Gaetz was not among the more established lawyers who had been mentioned as candidates for the position, and even his congressional colleagues seemed stunned by the news.

“Everyone was like, ‘Oh my God,’” said Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho. “It was as big a surprise as I’ve had in a long time.”

Gaetz resigned his House seat Wednesday evening.

Trump announced the decision in a post on his Truth Social network, saying Gaetz would “eliminate systemic corruption within the DOJ and return the department to its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and our Constitution.” .

If confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, Gaetz would instantly become one of the most closely watched members of Trump’s cabinet, given his avowed loyalty to a president-elect who has threatened revenge against his perceived adversaries.

Gaetz represents much of the Florida Panhandle and became a conservative star when he joined Congress, frequently appearing as a staunch Trump defender on cable news.

Shortly after Trump announced his intention to nominate him for the position and Gaetz resigned, news broke that he was under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct. That investigation effectively ended Wednesday, when Gaetz resigned.

He has spent years at the center of scandals that threaten to derail his confirmation as the nation’s top federal law enforcement official by the Republican-led Senate.

Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving minor girls had concluded without any federal charges against him.

Trump’s attorney general is expected to oversee sweeping changes to the Justice Department, which has been the target of Trump’s ire following two criminal cases filed by him accusing him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump, who portrayed himself as the victim of politically motivated prosecutions, vowed repeatedly on the campaign trail to punish his political enemies if he returned to the White House.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.