By Philip Bump

To understand why President-elect Donald Trump nominated former (as of Wednesday afternoon) Florida Rep. Matt Gage to serve as attorney general in his incoming administration, as long as he reads Trump’s own announcement.

The release described William & Mary College of Law graduate Matt Gage as a “profoundly talented and tenacious attorney.” And then we come to Gaj’s actual qualifications.

“Few issues in America are more important than ending the use of our justice system as a weapon of revenge”the statement said. “Matt will end Instrumental Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Organized Crime, and restore Americans’ shattered Faith and Trust in the Department of Justice (DOJ). On the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating Russia, the Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Instrumentalism.”

Leaving aside the frequent use of capital letters in the announcement, it is worth pointing out that the priorities identified in it are broadly fictitious. The reference to “tooled government” has its roots in Trump’s prosecution for trying to sway the results of the 2020 presidential election and failing to turn over classified documents when requested. The “collapsed” faith in the Justice Department is a function of the relentless accusations it received from Trump for having the audacity to investigate him across the board.

That includes investigating whether Trump or people involved in his 2016 campaign tried to help the Russian effort to boost his candidacy. Trump’s narrative that the investigation was a “hoax” has now worn thin. The investigation, however, was based on genuine concerns and ultimately found multiple points of contact between Trump allies and Russian actors. Invoking Trump’s narrative that the investigation was a “hoax” was a surefire way to curry favor with the president-elect, so Gadge and many others did so without qualms.

Here is exactly the burning issue: Gage is ready to undo everything Donald Trump said happened, even if it didn’t. And that means undoing things that Trump and his allies don’t want to happen, even if they shouldn’t be undone. A source close to Trump told Axios that Gaj’s appointment was intended to “stop (events) like this”referring to the FBI’s search of the home of the CEO of Polymarket, a betting platform launched during the election campaign this year. A statement from the company called the investigation “obvious political retaliation” for … correctly predicting that Trump would win.

Just as politics was the central vehicle through which Trump dealt with his own impeachment, those people who were loyal to Trump and the organizations (or who can present themselves as such) may see their legal problems disappear. Because, you know, it’s a simple “tooling”.

Trump’s allies who defend this choice of Gage interpret this argument differently. It’s not just that the Trump loyalist Gadge will belittle the Justice Department, it’s that the bar for what qualifies as a good attorney general he had already been undermined by Democratic appointees.

Vice President-elect JD Vance endorsed Gage’s candidacy on social media.

“The main issue with Matt Gage is that he used his office to prosecute his political opponents and authorized federal agents to harass parents who were peacefully protesting at school board meetings.”he wrote. Then: “Oh wait, that’s actually Merrick Garland, the current attorney general.”

On Fox News, Senator Lindsey Graham expressed a similar view.

“I say to my Democratic friends: Elections have consequences, whether you like them or not”he said—suggesting that Gage deserved the job, if only because he was the president-elect’s running mate.

“You’re accusing Matt of doing exactly what you did,” continue. “Matt Gage did not lie under oath. Matt Gage did not sign the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrants based on Russian disinformation. So we will give the president a chance to promote his people. To every Republican: Give Matt a chance».

However, the “give him a chance” is not the same as “to do that.”

Trump’s choice is a reaction to his apparent irritation at facing a wide range of investigations. His supporters’ arguments for this choice of his are often based on the idea that the attorney general’s service level had deteriorated because of the Democrats.

But outside of Trump’s reasoning, in reality, the selection of Gadge looks like the appointment of a federal investigation target by a man who also became a federal investigation target for the purpose of retaliating against federal investigators.

* Philip Bump is a Washington Post columnist. He writes the newsletter “How to Read This Chart” and is the author of “The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America”