Washington DC - House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Donald Trump's nomination of Matt Gaetz as attorney general and urged the House Ethics Committee to withhold the release of a potentially damning report about the congressman.

In an interview with CNN host Jake Tapper, Johnson claimed he and Trump "have literally not discussed one word" about the committee's report, which details an investigation into multiple serious allegations against Gaetz, including sex trafficking of a minor.

After Trump shockingly nominated Gaetz, the Florida representative quickly resigned from his House seat, effectively putting an end to the investigation.

Gaetz must be confirmed by the Senate, and multiple senators have said they would like to see the report to help them make their decision.

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But Johnson argued the committee should withhold the report because it wouldn't be "appropriate," despite reports that it includes "damning" information.

"He is no longer a member," the California congressman said. "There's a very important protocol and tradition and rule that we maintain, that the House Ethics committee’s jurisdiction does not extend to nonmembers of Congress."

"I think that would be a Pandora’s box," he added. "I don't think we want the House Ethics Committee using all of its vast resources and powers to go after private citizens, and that's what Matt Gaetz is now."

Tapper later pressed Johnson on what Gaetz and other Trump picks say about the party's relationship with morality.

"You and I have known each other a long time. You're a man of faith, you're a man of God, you're a man of family," Tapper told Johnson. "With some of these nominees... I wonder – does it matter anymore for Republicans to think of leaders as people who are moral in their personal lives?"

Johnson argued that installing "disruptors" like Gaetz will "shake up the status quo" which is all "by design."