Matt Gaetz has announced that he is withdrawing from his nomination for Attorney General.
The shocking announcement was posted to X on Thursday morning.
“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday,” Gaetz began. “I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many.”
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
The former congressman continued, “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 announcement concluded.
Trump issued a statement about the withdrawal in a post to Truth Social, which read:
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!
Gaetz’s withdrawal comes one day after the House Ethics Committee announced it would not release the files from the federal sex trafficking investigation into him—but a document from the Department of Justice’s probe was leaked to The New York Times two hours later.
NEW/BREAKING: We obtained a document from the federal sex trafficking investigation of Gaetz. It shows he made thousands $ in payments to women who told investigators they had sex w/him for money. We are publishing a redacted version of the document. https://t.co/6dSTDHbEpe pic.twitter.com/yC9VvLxWQk
— Michael S. Schmidt (@nytmike) November 20, 2024
“It shows [Gaetz] made thousands $ in payments to women who told investigators they had sex with him for money. We are publishing a redacted version of the document,” New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt said on Wednesday evening.
Gaetz has denied all allegations, and the Justice Department declined to bring charges after investigating the matter.
The day before he withdrew, CNN asked Trump if he was reconsidering Gaetz’s nomination due to the allegations against him.
“No,” Trump responded.
CNN: “Mr. President, are you reconsidering the nomination of Matt Gaetz?”
TRUMP: “No.”
AMERICA: Now don’t ask again. pic.twitter.com/QZRjQDdQaE
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 20, 2024
Will he be able to regain his House seat ?