Hardline Following resistance from Senate Republicans over claims of sexual misbehavior, Republican Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from contention to be President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general.
Due to ongoing controversy over a federal sex trafficking probe that raised questions about his suitability as the country’s top federal law enforcement official, Matt Gaetz withdrew as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for attorney general.
The statement on Thursday ends a tumultuous eight-day period during which Trump attempted to use his resounding election victory to pressure Senate Republicans into accepting controversial choices like Gaetz, who was investigated by the Justice Department before being appointed to lead it last week.
Gaetz, a Republican from Florida who had met with senators the day before to try to gain their support, said in a statement, “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 will be removing my name from consideration to be Attorney General because there is no time to squander on an unnecessary, drawn-out Washington dispute. On Day 1, Trump’s DOJ needs to be operational and prepared,” he continued.
In a social media post, Trump stated: “I am very grateful for Matt Gaetz’s recent efforts to have his attorney generalship approved. Although he was doing extremely well, he did not want to cause any trouble for the Administration, which he really admires. I’m excited to see all the amazing things Matt will accomplish in the future.
He didn’t reveal a fresh choice right away.
The choice made by Gaetz may increase scrutiny of other contentious Trump candidates, such as Pentagon selection Pete Hegseth, who is also accused of sexual assault but denies it.
According to a thorough investigative police report released on Wednesday, a woman told police that Hegseth, the former Fox News host who is now tapped to lead the Pentagon, had sexually assaulted her in 2017 after he stole her phone, locked the door to a hotel room in California, and wouldn’t let her leave.
“The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday when he was meeting with senators to garner support for his candidacy at the Capitol.
The unclear political future of Gaetz
A week after the selection was made public, the withdrawal prevents what was expected to be a fierce confirmation battle that would have determined the extent to which Senate Republicans would go in order to back Trump’s Cabinet choices.
At a time when Trump has publicly promised to exact revenge on political opponents, the choice of the ferocious Trump loyalist over reputable seasoned attorneys whose names had surfaced as potential candidates raised questions about the independence of the Justice Department.
It demonstrated how highly Trump values personal devotion and mirrored the president-elect’s wish to have a disruptive leader in charge of the Justice Department, which spent years looking into and eventually indicting him.
Deeply doubtful senators pressed for additional details regarding Justice Department and congressional investigations into claims of sex trafficking involving minors, which Gaetz has refuted.
The selection of a political politician with little legal background who has echoed Trump’s accusations of a weaponized criminal justice system, however, shocked Justice Department attorneys.
Concern over the sex trafficking accusations did not appear to be waning as Gaetz worked to get Senate support.
In recent days, a lawyer for two women said that his clients informed investigators from the House Ethics Committee that Gaetz repeatedly paid them for the relationship starting in 2017, when Gaetz was a representative from Florida.
According to the lawyer, Joel Leppard, one of the ladies claimed that she witnessed Gaetz sexually abuse a 17-year-old at a party in Florida in 2017.
Gaetz has strongly rejected any misconduct. He was not charged at the conclusion of the Justice Department’s inquiry last year.
It’s unclear what Gaetz’s political future holds. In an apparent attempt to end the ethics probe into the claims of sexual misbehavior, he had unexpectedly quit his congressional seat after being appointed attorney general.
Although he was reelected in November for the upcoming Congress, which meets on January 3, 2025, he stated in his letter of resignation to House Speaker Mike Johnson last week that he had no intention of taking the oath of office.
As the state began a special election process to replace the vacancy, he forwarded an identical letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
In a 50-50 vote, Republicans on the House Ethics Committee refused to make the panel’s conclusions public this week due to Democratic objections. However, the committee agreed to complete its job and will reconvene on December 5 to continue the conversation.
