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Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz announced today that he is ending his bid to become Donald Trump’s attorney general.
“I had a great meeting with the Senator yesterday. I appreciate your thoughtful advice – and the incredible support from so many. As momentum builds, it is clear that my confirmation is unfairly a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz tweeted. “There’s no time to waste on unnecessary Washington scuffles, so I’m withdrawing my name from consideration for Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ needs to be there and ready on Day 1.”
He added: “I remain committed to the belief that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever appreciate that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I believe he will save America.”
The appointment is easily the most controversial and politically controversial of the incoming president’s cabinet picks. Recently elected to a fifth term in the House of Representatives, Gaetz was investigated by the Department of Justice, which he wants to lead, for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl at a party in 2017, during his first term in office. Witnesses testified to seeing the encounter, which Gaetz has strongly denied ever happened.
The Florida Republican is withdrawing from Congress now that he announced last week that he will seek the nomination for attorney general. In the letter, he also announced that he will not take a seat in the 119th Congress when it convenes in January.
The timing of the resignation and subsequent nomination sent shock waves through Washington. The Ethics Committee, which has conducted its own extensive investigation into Gaetz’s activities and allegations against him, is due to release its report just two days after he announced his resignation. The decision ends the committee’s authority to continue the investigation, and calls into question whether the report will ever be released.
President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement shortly after Gaetz’s announcement.
“I appreciate Matt Gaetz’s recent efforts to get approval to be Attorney General. He did a good job but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, which he respects,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform. “Matt has a great future ahead of him, and I look forward to seeing all the things he has in store!”
Gaetz’s removal from contention for the role may come as a relief to GOP senators on Capitol Hill who have grown weary of defending someone they hate and have publicly acknowledged will face a difficult confirmation process.
“Oh, so happy we will miss,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, said sarcastically The Independent.
“Not now!” Rude Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, added.
It also marks the first failed cabinet nomination of Trump’s incoming presidency, which critics warn will largely fall from the “guardrails” that reduce behavior to fit the norms of Washington established during his first term.
The end of oversight on Gaetz won’t be a boon for Trump’s other cabinet-level positions, some of whom have similar baggage. Pete Hegseth, the Fox personality chosen by Trump to run the Department of Defense, is a prime example: he entered into a negotiated monetary settlement with a woman who accused him of sexual assault, although he did not face criminal charges in the matter and continues to insist that he saw the encounter as consensual .
