Matt Gaetz Withdraws From Trump's Attorney General Nomination (image @mattgaetz)
Washington, DC, US: Matt Gaetz, the firebrand congressman whom Donald Trump picked as his attorney general, has withdrawn from consideration for the post. Gaetz’s nomination was something that stunned the Justice Department, which has opened an investigation against him over allegations of sexual misconduct.
The withdrawal was after the renewed focus on the said sexual misconduct allegations.
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Gaetz said he had become a “distraction.” Taking to his X, he said, “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 [Department of Justice] must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
He also added that he remains fully committed to seeing that Trump is the most successful President in history.”
Trump replaced Gaetz with Pam Bondi, former Florida attorney general, as his pick for the top prosecutor.
Gaetz is known for setting it off with other Republicans, and he faced the prospect of opposition to his nomination in the US Senate, where the proposed cabinet members must pass a confirmation vote. That, coupled with the allegations that he had sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl, a crime under Florida law, helped sink his chances. The Republican denied the allegations of sexual impropriety.
Donald Trump, who has signaled his intent to wield his newly gained power of the government against political opponents, said that he was “greatly” appreciative of Gaetz’s work.
“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,” Trump said in a post on his social media site, Truth Social.
The US House Ethics Committee also launched an investigation against Gaetz over the allegations of sexual misconduct.
The committee debated whether to release its report on Gaetz following Trump’s selection of him as attorney general.
Joel Leppard, the lawyer for the two women, told committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions starting in 2017. He said that one woman testified that she had seen Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl at a party in Florida in 2017.
The investigation ended on November 13, when Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump’s nomination as the head of the same department that opened the probe against him. It is not clear if Gaetz would return to his seat in the US Congress—to which he was re-elected for another two years on November 5—or seek other employment.
