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Nearly a week after the announcement of his controversial nomination, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has withdrawn his name “from consideration to serve as Attorney General.
Gaetz met with multiple Republican Senators on Wednesday in an attempt to shore up support for the nomination and said that while those meetings went well, he didn’t want the confirmation to be a “distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition.”
Gaetz wrote:
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.
I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.
The move comes after numerous leaks of information from a closed DOJ probe into allegations that Gaetz had participated in sex trafficking. Those allegations were brought by a man Politico described as the “most corrupt politician in Florida ever,” Joel Greenberg, who is currently serving 10 years in federal prison for sex trafficking, identity fraud, and more. Greenberg struck a plea deal with prosecutors for his cooperation. Even with that, Merrick Garland’s DOJ didn’t press charges, finding Greenberg and a woman who claims Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17 to have major credibility issues. The House Ethics Committee had been investigating those allegations separately.
President-elect Trump weighed in on Truth Social.
He wrote:
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!
Though Gaetz resigned from this term of Congress in anticipation of this confirmation, since he was elected to a new two-year term on November 5, observers say he can still be seated for the new term of Congress.
According to a tweet from Gaetz’s wife, Ginger, that might not be the plan.
