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    • Matt Gaetz is stepping down from Trump’s job as attorney general
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    Matt Gaetz is stepping down from Trump’s job as attorney general

    Online Niel Posted on

    Eric Tucker
    | Associated Press

    Washington — Matt Gaetz was stepped down as attorney general by President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday amid ongoing fallout from a federal sex-trafficking investigation that has cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the country’s top federal law enforcement officer. the nation.

    The announcement caps a tumultuous eight-day period in which Trump sought to use his landslide election victory to force Senate Republicans to accept challenger picks like Gaetz, who had been under investigation by the Justice Department before being selected last week to lead The decision could increase scrutiny of other controversial Trump nominees, including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth. who faces allegations of sexual assault that he denies.

    More: Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Gaetz retires

    Subscribe to: Four takeaways from Matt Gaetz’s exit as attorney general nominee

    “While the momentum has been strong, it is clear that my confirmation has unfairly become a distraction for the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition,” Gaetz, a Florida Republican who met a day earlier with senators in an effort to to win their support. said in a statement.

    “There is no time to waste with an unnecessarily prolonged argument in Washington, so I will withdraw my name from consideration for the position of attorney general. Trump’s DOJ needs to be in place and ready on Day 1,” he added. Hours later, Gaetz posted on social media that he “looks forward to continuing the fight to save our country,” adding, “Maybe in another post.”

    Trump, in a social media post, said: “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, he didn’t want to be a distraction to the Administration, for which he has a lot of respect. Matt has a great future and I look forward to watching all the great things he does!”

    The withdrawal, just a week after the pick was announced, avoids what was expected to be a confirmation battle that would have tested how far Senate Republicans were willing to go to support Trump’s cabinet picks.

    The choice of the fierce Trump ally over well-respected veteran lawyers whose names had been floated as possible contenders raised concerns about the Justice Department’s independence at a time when Trump has openly threatened to seek retribution against political opponents. It underscored Trump’s premium on personal loyalty and reflected the president-elect’s desire to have a disruptor lead a Justice Department that spent years investigating and eventually impeaching him.

    In the Senate, deeply skeptical lawmakers sought more information about Justice Department and congressional investigations into sex-trafficking allegations involving underage girls, which Gaetz denied. Meanwhile, Justice Department lawyers were surprised by the choice of a partisan lawmaker with limited legal experience who echoed Trump’s claims of an armed criminal justice system.

    More: House panel told Gaetz paid two women $10,000, partly for sex

    As Gaetz tried to block Senate support, concern over the sex-trafficking allegations showed no signs of abating.

    In recent days, a lawyer for two women said his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions starting in 2017, when Gaetz was a congressman from Florida.

    One of the women testified that she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old boy at a party in Florida in 2017, according to attorney Joel Leppard. Leppard said his client testified that she did not believe Gaetz knew the girl was a minor, broke off their relationship when she found out and did not resume until after she turned 18. The age of consent in Florida is 18.

    “They’re grateful for the opportunity to move on with their lives,” Leppard said Thursday of his clients. “They hope this will bring final closure for all parties involved.”

    Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department’s investigation ended last year without charges against him.

    Gaetz’s political future is uncertain.

    He abruptly resigned from his congressional seat after being elected attorney general, a move seen as a way to shut down the ethics investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He won re-election in November to the new Congress, which convenes on January 3, 2025, but said in his resignation letter last week to House Speaker Mike Johnson that he did not intend to take the oath of office. He sent a similar letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the state launched a special election process to fill the vacancy.

    Republicans on the House Ethics Committee this week refused to release the panel’s findings over the objections of Democrats in a split vote. But the committee agreed to finish its work and is scheduled to meet again on December 5 to discuss the matter.

    As word of Gaetz’s decision spread around Capitol Hill, Republican senators appeared divided.

    Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who served with Gaetz in the House, called it a “positive move.” Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Gaetz “put country first and I’m pleased with his decision.”

    Others said they had hoped Gaetz could have overhauled the department.

    Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a close associate of Trump, said he was “disappointed. I like Matt and I think he would have changed the way the DOJ is run.”

    Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he hoped Trump would pick someone “as tenacious and as committed to rooting out and removing bias and politicization from the DOJ.”

    Gaetz is not the only Trump pick facing congressional scrutiny over past allegations.

    A detailed police investigative report released Wednesday shows a woman told police she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth, the former Fox News host now tapped to run the Pentagon after he took her phone and locked the door of a hotel room in California. and refused to let her go.

    “The matter has been fully investigated and I have been given the all clear,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday at the Capitol, where he met with senators to drum up support for his nomination.

    Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report.

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