President-elect Donald Trump tapped firebrand former congressman Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general without telling his chief of staff.

Trump was advised to make the shock decision by his longtime adviser Boris Epshteyn, who was indicted earlier this year in Arizona for his alleged involvement in a fraudulent voter scheme, according to a report in Politico.

Epshteyn and Gaetz were part of a MAGA entourage on Trump’s plane flying to Washington, DC yesterday with the president-elect.

Trump picked Gaetz, who wasn’t on the shortlist for the position earlier in the week, on a flight while his new chief of staff, Susie Wiles, was a room over and out of sight.

Conformable by Bulwark, the president-elect was apparently captivated by Gaetz’s willingness to entertain Trump’s stated desire to use the power of office to attack his perceived enemies.

“None of the lawyers had what Trump wanted and they didn’t speak like Gaetz,” an anonymous Trump aide told the press. “Everyone else looked at the AG as if he was applying for a judicial appointment. They talked about their vaunted legal theories and constitutional bubbles—t. Gaetz was the only one who said, “Yeah, I’m going to go over there and start to shut up in my head.”

Gaetz, a bombastic former congressman from Florida, resigned from the House of Representatives on Wednesday, just days before the House Ethics Committee voted on whether to release a report into sexual misconduct and drug allegations against him.

By resigning, Gaetz ensured that the bipartisan panel must stop the investigation because it no longer has jurisdiction over him under congressional rules.

However, he faces an uphill battle to secure enough votes in the Senate to be appointed AG.

Even many D.C. Republicans expressed shock at Trump’s decision to present him as the nation’s top law enforcement official. GOP Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have both indicated they will oppose his nomination.

Gaetz, 42, is better known for his solid right-wing politics than for his very short and unremarkable legal career before entering Congress.

But his political beliefs are undoubtedly overshadowed by his alleged deeds, which include sleeping with a 17-year-old and taking illegal drugs.