Matt Gaetz said today that he was withdrawing from consideration as nominee as Donald Trump‘s attorney general, as Republican senators expressed concerns over a House ethics investigation of sexual misconduct.
He wrote on X, “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. 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. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
Gaetz has been accused of having sex with an underage girl, an allegation that he has denied. The Ethics Committee has been drawing up a report on its investigation of him, but it deadlocked on Wednesday on whether to release the report. The Justice Department investigated Gaetz in a sex trafficking case but he was not charged.
Still, some Senate Republicans had sought to obtain the report as they considered whether to confirm Gaetz, as it looked increasingly unlikely that he would have the votes. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who met with Gaetz on Wednesday, told NBC News, “All I said to him was that there are not going to be any secrets here. Everything’s eventually going to come out.”
Trump made the surprise choice of Gaetz last week. The Florida congressman, known as a firebrand in the House, then resigned his seat.
CNN reported today that the woman who said that she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17 told the House Ethics Committee that she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017.
The Ethics Committee also was investigating allegations that Gaetz paid women for sexual favors. Earlier this week, a lawyer for the two women appeared on CNN and said that they testified before the House panel.
Gaetz’s nomination had become a central focus of Trump’s transition as he prepares to take the Oath of Office on January 20. Other nominations face potentially rocky confirmations. Since Trump named Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, it was revealed that the former Fox News host had paid a woman to settle her claims of sexual assault, something that he denies. Other nominees, including Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Robert Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services, have run into some opposition from the right.
Trump posted on Truth Social, “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. 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. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”
Although seen as a champion of the MAGA movement, Gaetz had bad blood among a number of Republicans in the House after he led an effort to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year. McCarthy has been one of his most vocal critics, and predicted last week that he would not be confirmed. McCarthy accused Gaetz of seeking his ouster because he declined to scuttle the ethics investigation.
Gaetz’s selection was viewed as Trump’s test of Senate Republicans after his election victory and the extent to which they would accede to his demands that his nominees be confirmed. There is also the prospect that Trump will seek to install other problematic nominees via recess appointments, in which a bypasses the confirmation process and puts in place someone for a limited period.
More to come.