Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz withdrew his candidacy on Thursday, just a day after holding discussions with GOP senators on Capitol Hill amid the lingering shadow of a potentially damaging congressional ethics report. It came as a new allegation surfaced, accusing the embattled Republican of engaging in a threesome that involved a minor.
Gaetz resigned from Congress on November 13, hours after being nominated by Trump as the nation's top law enforcement official. Gaetz, 42, said in a post on X that he "had excellent meetings with Senators" but acknowledged that "it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition."
Gaetz Plays Safe
"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," he went on. "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," the former Republican congressman continued. "I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I'm certain he will Save America."
Many senators privately voiced doubts about Gaetz's ability to secure confirmation, citing an ethics investigation into allegations involving drug use, sex parties, and an encounter with a minor.
Although Gaetz resigned from the House of Representatives for the current term, he was re-elected and is set to return as a lawmaker when the new Congress is sworn in on January 3.
CNN reported that they informed Gaetz at 11:30 a.m. about testimony given to the House Ethics Committee by a woman who claimed to have had two sexual encounters with him at a 2017 party.
The woman, who was 17 at the time, testified that the second encounter—earlier unreported—also involved another adult woman.
Avoiding More Embarrassment
According to CNN, Gaetz was told the story would be going live at 12:30 p.m. ET. He announced his decision to withdraw his nomination on social media just six minutes earlier, at 12:24 p.m. Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations of sexual encounters.
According to CNN, the adult woman testified to the Ethics Committee that she did not take part in the alleged second sexual encounter.
Gaetz's tenure as Trump's nominee for Attorney General lasted just nine days.
Trump thanked Gaetz, saying he anticipated great things from him in the future. "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!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Gaetz's wife, Ginger Luckey, reacted to his announcement by posting, "Nobody loves America more than you," along with a heart-shaped hands emoji.
The Justice Department ended its investigation into Gaetz last year after prosecutors advised against filing criminal charges. Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee was finalizing its investigation and preparing to publish its findings.
However, Gaetz's resignation from the 118th Congress removed him from the committee's jurisdiction. As a result, the panel voted on Wednesday against releasing its report on him.
