U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks to members of the media after speaking on the House floor about a possible waiver motion to remove U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy in front of the U.S. Capitol on October 2 in Washington, DC. 2023.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Matt Gaetz said Thursday that he is withdrawing from President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.S. attorney general, ending the controversial bid that spotlighted previous allegations of sexual misconduct.
“I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many,” Gaetz said in a statement posted to his X account.
“While momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation unfairly became a distraction from the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition,” the former Republican congressman from Florida said.
“We cannot waste time on an unnecessarily protracted melee in Washington, so I will be withdrawing my name from consideration for attorney general,” he said.
The Justice Department's investigation into whether Gaetz sexually abused an underage girl ended last year without any charges being filed. But the House Ethics Committee later reopened its own investigation into allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, accepted inappropriate gifts, granted special favors to personal contacts and tried to obstruct the government's efforts to investigate him .
CNN's Paula Reid said Gaetz's retraction came less than an hour after he was asked by the network for comment on the report that a woman told the ethics panel that in 2017, when she was 17, had had two sexual encounters with Gaetz.
Gaetz has denied having sex with an underage girl. His decision to resign from Congress after being nominated for attorney general effectively ended the ethics investigation by removing him from the committee's jurisdiction.
The House committee, made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, deadlocked on Wednesday in voting to release a report on its investigation into Gaetz.
Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the committee's ranking Democrat, said members agreed to meet again on Dec. 5 to “further consider this matter.”
Trump said on Truth Social later Thursday that Gaetz was “doing very well, but at the same time he didn't want to be a distraction for the administration that he has great respect for.”
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Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump's transition team, said in a statement that the president-elect “remains committed to choosing a Justice Department leader who will vigorously defend the Constitution and end the weaponization of our justice system.”
Trump “will announce his new decision as soon as it is made,” Leavitt told CNBC.
Had Gaetz continued to seek the role of AG, he may have faced a steep path to confirmation, even in a Republican-controlled Senate.
The former lawmaker, who frequently clashed with members of both parties in Congress, was reportedly opposed by a significant number of Republican senators.
Gaetz and Vice President-elect JD Vance met with senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said after speaking with Gaetz and Vance that he was inclined to “defer the President's Cabinet's decisions unless the evidence points to disqualification.”
Vance said in an X post Thursday afternoon that he was “extremely grateful for the work Matt put into the nomination process.”
“He made his decision to withdraw solely out of respect for President Trump’s administration,” Vance wrote.
Gaetz's withdrawal also came a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee's Democratic majority called on the FBI to turn over all evidence it had collected as part of its investigation into the former congressman.
“The serious public allegations against Mr. Gaetz speak directly to his suitability to serve as the federal government’s top law enforcement official,” her letter said.
Gaetz is the first of Trump's nominees to withdraw his name from the race to join the new administration.
He's not the only one facing allegations of misconduct. Police files released Wednesday evening showed that Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee to lead the Pentagon, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017.
Hegseth's attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told NBC News that the report “confirms what I have said all along, that the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegation to be false, therefore no charges were filed.”
Police gave no reason for not charging Hegseth.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has denied the allegations. His lawyer admitted he paid the woman an undisclosed amount as part of a confidential civil settlement agreement. Parlatore has accused the woman of “attempting to blackmail Mr. Hegseth for money.”
—CNBC's Ece Yildirim contributed to this report.
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