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Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration for US attorney-general, in a blow to Donald Trump after the president-elect made the controversial former congressman his pick to run the Department of Justice.
Gaetz, one of Trump’s most loyal supporters, said in a post on X on Thursday that his nomination 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,” Gaetz said. “Trump’s DoJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
Trump accepted Gaetz’s decision to withdraw on Thursday but did not immediately announce a new nominee for the top job at the DoJ, one of the most important posts in his incoming cabinet.
The president-elect has said he intends to use the judicial system to seek “retribution” for individuals he sees as having wronged him. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump’s transition, said on Thursday that the president-elect remained “committed” to choosing an attorney-general who would “strongly defend the Constitution and end the weaponisation of our justice system”.
Trump’s selection of Gaetz — a 42-year-old lawmaker from Florida with limited legal experience — for attorney-general last week sent shockwaves through Washington.
Many Republican lawmakers immediately questioned the move, raising questions about whether the radical from Florida would be able to survive a gruelling Senate confirmation process. All cabinet appointees must be approved by a simple majority of the upper chamber of Congress.
Gaetz, who last week resigned from his congressional seat, was previously under investigation by the DoJ for allegedly having a sexual relationship with an underage girl. While no charges were ever brought, he has separately been the subject of a long-running congressional investigation by the House ethics committee into alleged sexual misconduct and drug use.
The congressional investigation was put on ice when Gaetz resigned last week. Despite calls from Democratic lawmakers, and several Republicans for the committee’s report to be released, it voted on Wednesday to keep its finding sealed for the time being.
The committee is expected to reconsider the matter next month — although many in Washington expect the report’s findings to leak before then.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the committee had obtained records showing Gaetz had paid women for sex. A lawyer representing women who testified to the committee also told US media outlets that one had witnessed Gaetz having sex with an underage girl.
Gaetz has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
After Gaetz’s withdrawal, Trump praised him on his Truth Social platform, saying the former congressman had a “wonderful future” ahead of him.
“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,” the president-elect said. “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”
Gaetz’s withdrawal came just one day after he met several Republican senators on Capitol Hill accompanied by JD Vance, the Ohio senator who will be Trump’s vice-president, in a bid to shore up support for his nomination.
Vance on Thursday called Gaetz a “patriot” and said he was “extremely grateful” for his work.
“He made his decision to withdraw entirely out of respect for President Trump’s administration,” Vance added in a post on X.
There are questions over who Trump might now nominate to run the DoJ in Gaetz’s place, and whether he would pick another controversial flame-thrower or a more traditional candidate.
Trump has separately nominated Todd Blanche, a former federal prosecutor who represented him during his New York “hush money” trial, for deputy attorney-general, and Jay Clayton, the former head of the Securities and Exchange commission, as US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Additional reporting by Alex Rogers in Palm Beach
