WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has had few defenders in Congress as reliable as Matt Gaetz, who has thundered at one prosecutor after another for perceived bias against the president-elect and emphatically amplified the Republican's rallying cry that the criminal investigations into him are “witch hunts.”

President-elect Donald Trump waited until after he had left Washington to stun the town. Hours after a cordial meeting Wednesday with President Biden, Trump on his way back to Florida announced administration picks that prompted surprise on Capitol Hill.

Gaetz, a four-term congressman from Florida’s Panhandle, has little experience as a practicing attorney and has carved out a reputation for himself in both Tallahassee and Washington as a right-wing provocateur who’s highly critical of federal agencies and deeply loyal to Trump.