Dismay turns to fury as Trump names string of hardliners for key positions

Fears that Donald Trump's second presidency will be more extreme than his first have intensified amid a flurry of senior appointments that opponents have criticised as going from bad to worse.

- Robert Tait

Dismay over some of the president-elect's early nominations escalated to outrage after the far-right Florida congressman Matt Gaetz was unveiled as his selection to be attorney general – a position Trump has previously said he views as the most important in his administration.

The choice provoked disbelief, even among Republicans, and has fuelled concerns that Trump is intent on carrying out mass firings at the Department of Justice in retribution for criminal investigations it instigated against him.

Trump reportedly chose Gaetz, 42, after the congressman – who himself was subject to a two-year DoJ investigation into suspected sex trafficking that ended without charges – told him: "Yeah, I'll go over there and start cuttin' fuckin' heads."

Others considered for the post were dismissed as too concerned with legal concepts or constitutional niceties.

Ty Cobb, a White House lawyer in Trump's first presidency, called Gaetz's nomination "a big F... you to America". He told CNN: "Matt Gaetz is just simply unqualified – academically, professionally, ethically, morally and experientially."