Nov. 21 (UPI) — Former Republican member of Congress Matt Gaetz announced Thursday he is withdrawing from consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump‘s choice for attorney general.
Trump’s pick of the right-wing GOP firebrand had generated displeasure from several Republican lawmakers due to the controversy over Gaetz’s connection to a federal sex trafficking investigation.
His withdrawal announcement comes a day after he met with Republican senators on Capitol Hill.
“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many,” Gaetz wrote in a post on X. “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.
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…— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 21, 2024
“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.”
His withdrawal from consideration happened just a day after the House Ethics Committee decided not to release the report produced during a years-long investigation into alleged ethics violations.
The committee voted along partisan lines to not release the report now, but it also voted to formally “complete” the report, so it’s possible it could be released when complete.
The House is also poised for a post-Thanksgiving vote to decide whether to force the ethics report to be made public. Two Democrat House members moved to set up that vote.
President-elect Donald Trump praised Gaetz in a social media post and said he withdrew so as not to be a distraction for the incoming administration.
Gaetz resigned from the House last week, effectively ending the ethics probe.
Several senators had expressed doubt Gaetz could win a confirmation vote to become attorney general, in part because of both the House ethics investigation and a Department of Justice investigation into sex trafficking allegations against him.
The DOJ declined to prosecute Gaetz last year.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, met with Gaetz Wednesday along with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
“He was very forthcoming, but that’s all I’m going to say because he will go through a very fair confirmation process with Senator Grassley, and I think a lot of this will get flushed out then,” Ernst said. “I’m just reserving judgment.”
Cornyn said he told Gaetz that there wouldn’t be any secrets about the allegations during any confirmation process.
“Everything’s eventually going to come out,” Cornyn said.
The House Ethics Committee meets again Dec. 5.
Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., the ranking Democrat on the committee, told reporters the committee planned “to further consider this matter” of the Gaetz ethics report at that meeting.
According to the New York Times, two people with direct knowledge said Gaetz decided to withdraw from consideration after realizing he would not have enough senate votes to be confirmed.
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, has a past sexual assault allegation that could impact his confirmation. Republican senators appeared to be rallying behind him as he met with them Thursday.