Washington — Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz announced Thursday that he is withdrawing his nomination for attorney general.
President-elect Donald Trump called on Gaetz last week, he took over the Justice Department as the nation’s top law enforcement officer. He quickly resigned his seat in the House and was elected Capitol Wednesday with Vice President-elect JD Vance, an Ohio senator, meeting with Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee who would oversee his confirmation hearings.
Gaetz said in a social media post that while he had “great meetings” with senators, his confirmation battle was taking away from the work of the new Trump administration.
“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction from the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition,” he wrote on social media. “There is no time to waste in an unnecessarily prolonged brawl in Washington, so I will withdraw my name from consideration for attorney general. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on day one.”
He added: “I remain fully committed to making Donald J. Trump the most successful president in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I am I’m sure he will save America.”
In response to Gaetz’s decision, Trump wrote on social media: “I greatly appreciate Matt Gaetz’s recent efforts to secure approval for Attorney General. He was doing great but at the same time he didn’t want to be a distraction to him. the Administration, for which he has a lot of respect.
He predicted that Gaetz “would have a wonderful future.” in front.
Gaetz called Trump and Vance separately to inform them of his decision, CBS News confirmed.
Gaetz’s appointment was quickly surrounded by controversy as he was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. He has denied any wrongdoing and called the investigation a “smear.” Gaetz blamed the investigation on former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose expulsion Gaetz helped lead last year.
The Justice Department also conducted an investigation into Gaetz involving allegations of sex trafficking and obstruction. Prosecutors refused to charge Gaetz last year.
Gaetz’s withdrawal comes as new details were reported about testimony before the ethics committee from a woman who said she had two encounters with the Florida Republican at a party in July 2017, while she was a minor, and months after he had taken the oath. Home. According to two sources familiar with the matter, the woman said the second encounter was a threesome. However, the person she identified as the other woman in the trio repeatedly denied under oath before the committee this had happened.
“My client denies witnessing and/or participating in sexual activity between Congressman Matt Gaetz and the 17-year-old in Orlando, Florida, in 2017,” the third participant’s attorney said.
CNN was the first to report the second meeting between Gaetz and the then 17-year-old.
Several senators had expressed concerns about installing Gaetz as attorney general, raising doubts about his confirmation even if Republicans control the upper chamber in the next Congress, which begins in January. Some then indicated that his decision to step down as attorney general was the right one.
“I think the decision to withdraw the nomination is the right decision to make,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota. He continued: “I thought from the beginning, as I said earlier, I thought it was problematic. And I think you know, as some of our members have expressed, as they learned more about it, there may have been some information that was leaked there that the president was not aware of at the time he made the initial recommendation.
Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said he was “grateful” that Gaetz stepped down, while Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said “there were a lot of red flags.” .
“I think he put the country first and I’m happy with his decision,” she said.
It’s the first major blow to Trump’s efforts to fulfill his mandate. Cabinet and key administrative positions for his second term. The president-elect’s pick for defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, is also under scrutiny after being named defense secretary. accused of sexual assault a woman in 2017. A police report provided details of the incident, which Hegseth said at the time was consensual. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Trump’s announcement of Gaetz as attorney general came just two days before the ethics committee was up for election. ready to meet to discuss whether to release a report detailing its years-long investigation into the Florida Republican. Because he resigned his House post upon his selection to lead the Justice Department, the committee’s jurisdiction over Gaetz ended, raising questions about whether the committee’s report would be released.
The ethics committee met on Wednesday and considered the publication of the report. But lawmakers said the panel, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, did not reach an agreement. The committee planned to meet again on Dec. 5 “to look at this issue further,” Rep. Susan Wild, the committee’s top Democrat, told reporters after the initial meeting.
The ethics committee said in June that it was investigating allegations against Gaetz of sexual misconduct and drug use, accepting inappropriate gifts and granting “special privileges and favors,” and obstructing investigations into his conduct. House investigators interviewed more than a dozen witnesses and issued 25 subpoenas, the committee said in a rare statement.
Multiple sources told CBS News at the time that four women told the committee they were paid to attend parties Gaetz attended that included sex and drugs. A lawyer for two women who spoke with the panel told CBS News Monday that they testified that Gaetz paid them directly and repeatedly for sex, and said Venmo transactions for the encounters were obtained by the ethics committee.
The attorney, Joel Leppard, also said the women told House investigators that Gaetz asked about “gifts” and “vitamins” at upcoming parties via text messages, which was considered like a code for drugs. One of Leppard’s clients testified before the Ethics Committee that she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old against a gaming table at a party in July 2017, months after she was sworn in as a House member.
Leppard said after Gaetz’s withdrawal that his “clients are relieved to have this chapter behind them and eager to move forward with their lives. We hope this brings definitive closure to all parties involved.”
Gaetz’s confirmation hearings before the Judiciary Committee would not have taken place until early next year, but Republican and Democratic senators insisted that the Ethics Committee’s report be considered during the review. of his appointment.
On Wednesday, 10 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee called on the FBI to turn over the full record of evidence in the now-closed federal sex trafficking investigation involving Gaetz.
GOP Rep. Michael Guest, chairman of the ethics committee, said Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from the review ends his panel’s involvement.
“I think this should end the debate about whether or not the ethics committee should continue to move forward on this issue,” he told reporters. “He withdrew his nomination. He is no longer a member of Congress, and so I think that settles any involvement that the ethics committee should have in any matter involving Mr. Gaetz.”
Kaia Hubbard,
Shawna Mizelle,
,
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and Olivia Rinaldi contributed to this report.
