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Former U.S. congressman Matt Gaetz has pulled himself out of the running to be the country’s attorney general under president-elect Donald Trump after several days of concern over the selection, even from Republicans.
President-elect Donald Trump stunned lawmakers on Capitol Hill with choice last week
CBC News
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Former U.S. congressman Matt Gaetz has pulled himself out of the running to be the nation’s attorney general under president-elect Donald Trump after several days of concern over the selection, even from Republicans.
The announcement on Thursday came after the House ethics committee deadlocked on releasing a report into allegations of Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl and using illegal drugs.
The politician said he made his decision to drop out after he met with Republican senators, whose support he would have needed to secure the job.
“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general,” he wrote on X.
Gaetz has denied criminal wrongdoing.
WATCH | Matt Gaetz drops out:
Matt Gaetz drops bid to be Trump’s attorney general
Former U.S. congressman Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration as president-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general, saying his confirmation was becoming a distraction.
Trump’s choice to have Gaetz oversee law enforcement shocked many in Washington last week. The pick also rattled many career Justice Department lawyers, who privately expressed concern about Gaetz leading the same agency that investigated sex-trafficking allegations involving underage girls.
The agency’s three-year investigation into Gaetz ended last year without charges being brought.
Gaetz’s nomination a test of Trump’s power
Trump, who has railed against the Justice Department over the two criminal cases brought against him, had described Gaetz as the right person to “root out the systemic corruption” within the department.
“He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
A spokesperson said Trump would “announce his new decision when it is made,” according to Reuters.
The nomination was an early test of Trump’s power over Congress, where his Republican Party will hold majorities in both chambers next year. Gaetz was disliked by many fellow Republicans for having orchestrated the ouster last year of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, throwing the House of Representatives into chaos for weeks.
“From everything that built up to this point, it doesn’t surprise me,” Republican Sen. Mike Braun said of Gaetz’s decision.
Other Republicans expressed disappointment.
“I had a very important relationship with Matt,” said Sen. Rick Scott, who like Gaetz is from Florida. Scott said he hopes Trump picks “whoever is going to be a fighter for getting the Department of Justice to stop being a partisan entity.”
With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
