The president-elect said he’d chosen Todd Blanche, who represented him in his criminal trial this year, for the No. 2 job at the Justice Department.

Mr. Blanche, a former supervising federal prosecutor in Manhattan, oversaw the president-elect’s legal defense against multiple indictments.

Gaetz, a Florida lawmaker who has been under federal investigation, has been a staunch Trump ally on Capitol Hill.

In picking Rep. Matt Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump looks to install a fierce loyalist who has been seen as divisive even within his own party.

Matt Gaetz is among Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks and will face a steep uphill confirmation battle in the Senate.

President-elect Donald Trump said he selected Todd Blanche for deputy attorney general, Emil Bove as his top deputy and D. John Sauer for solicitor general.

Todd Blanche, designated for the No. 2 slot the Justice Department, represented Trump in his New York hush money trial and two federal criminal cases.

Trump lawyer Emil Bove was named by the president-elect as principal associate deputy attorney general and as acting deputy attorney general, Trump said in a statement that added Blanche is in the process of being confirmed by the Senate.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has chosen two members of his personal criminal defense team to fill key roles at the Justice Department.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday he selected three attorneys who defended him in criminal cases for high-ranking posts within the Justice Department. In a statement, Trump nominated Todd Blanche for deputy attorney general,