Matt Gaetz withdraws from Trump's proposed attorney general position

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Matt Gaetz would have been the highest-ranking U.S. law enforcement official in the United States if confirmed.

Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew his candidacy for attorney general after days of debate over whether to release a congressional report into sexual misconduct allegations against him.

On X, formerly Twitter, the 42-year-old said the controversy surrounding his potential nomination was “unfairly becoming a distraction” to the work of the new Trump administration.

The report included the findings of an investigation triggered by allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use.

Gaetz denied the claims, but said he hoped to avoid an “unnecessarily prolonged brawl in Washington.”

The removal of Gaetz – whom Donald Trump chose to be the top law enforcement official in the United States – represents a setback for the president-elect.

On his own social media platform Truth Social, the former and future president said he appreciated Gaetz's efforts to become attorney general.

He's doing very well, but at the same time he doesn't want to be a distraction to the administration, for which he has a lot of respect, Trump added.

In his post on X, formerly Twitter, Gaetz said Trump's Justice Department “needs to be up and ready” on the first day of his administration in January.

“I remain fully committed to Donald J. Trump being the most successful president in history,” he wrote.

“I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Justice Department and I am confident that he will save America,” Gaetz added.

The shadow cast by a congressional ethics committee's long-running investigation into a number of allegations involving drugs, bribery and sex meant that Gaetz was likely to face an uphill battle when it comes time to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Lawmakers — including some Senate Republican colleagues — had expressed concerns about his nomination, which would have triggered a major behind-closed-doors effort by him and Trump to gain the necessary support.

The day before his withdrawal, the House Ethics Committee — which wrote the report — met behind closed doors to debate whether or not to release the report to Gaetz.

Susan Wild, the committee's top Democrat, said the group failed to reach an agreement and was split evenly, 5-5, along party lines.

Its president, Michael Guest, told reporters Thursday that his withdrawal “should end the discussion about whether or not the ethics committee should move forward on this issue.”

“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,” he said.

Gaetz resigned his House seat last week after Trump nominated him to be attorney general.

It is not yet clear who Trump will appoint in his place.

The allegations stem, in part, from a woman's claims that she attended a party with him in 2017 and witnessed the then-congressman having sex with a minor.

The woman's lawyer later said the woman, along with another witness, had been paid by Gaetz to have sex with him.

A separate three-year federal sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz ended with no charges filed against him.

Will Matt Gaetz return to Congress?

It's unclear what's next for Gaetz, who didn't provide any details on his future plans in his announcement.

President-elect Trump simply said he had a “wonderful future” and would do “great things.”

Experts have suggested that Gaetz is unlikely to attempt to return to the House — where he was re-elected to his seat in the November election — because it would mean the ethics committee report could be made public.

Top Republican officials, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, used his resignation as justification to avoid releasing the commission's findings.

But he could return to the Capitol in the upper chamber. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could appoint him to a vacant seat that will likely be left by Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump named secretary of state.

Gaetz could also push for another administration position that does not require Senate confirmation.

Who could replace him as candidate for attorney general?

Going forward, Trump will likely choose another attorney general appointee to carry out his agenda at the Justice Department — which he has described as ending “militarized government,” protecting America's borders, dismantling criminal organizations and restoring Americans’ “severely broken faith and trust.” confidence” in the department.

On Monday, some of Trump's allies in Congress said they were ready to begin evaluating other candidates.

“This gives the president an opportunity to look to other very qualified people who can help reorganize the Justice Department,” South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds was quoted as saying by Politico.

“It's likely that a number of them would be very acceptable to members of the Senate, who really want to see the president's agenda move forward,” he added.

Rounds added that he believed there was “some information that the president was not aware of when he made the initial recommendation.”

Among the names put forward as possibilities so far are:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey Utah Senator Mike Lee Former Office of Management and Budget General Counsel Mark Paoletta

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told the BBC that an “obvious candidate” would be Todd Blanche, who represented Trump at his criminal trial in New York and was previously named deputy attorney general.

Other possibilities include Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares or senior Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton or Josh Hawley.

The latter two have suggested that they would prefer to remain in the Senate.

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