Matt Gaetz is withdrawing from consideration to be US attorney general in a major defeat for conservatives who wanted him to overhaul the Justice Department in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
“It is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz tweeted Thursday. “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, 42, a former congressman from Florida, came under intense scrutiny in response to a long-running House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct, including having sex with a minor. The Justice Department also investigated Gaetz for alleged sex trafficking of a minor but informed his lawyers last year that the probe was closed without charges.
Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.
The decision to withdraw Gaetz from consideration represents a stinging rebuke for Trump when it comes to one of his first key moves as he prepares to take office. Gaetz was seen as a top choice to carry out Trump’s hard-line agenda on immigration, policing and other hot-button social issues.
Trump has indicated that he’ll push for a radical transformation of the Justice Department, which has more than 115,000 employees. The department sits at the apex of the machinery that Trump will need to carry out his agenda from enforcing federal laws to litigating controversial matters. It also plays a key role in doling out billions of dollars in grant funding for immigration enforcement, border security and policing.
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