Gaetz withdraws from attorney general consideration
CNN
Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said Thursday that he is withdrawing as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, writing on social media that his nomination “was unfairly becoming a distraction.”
Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said Thursday that he is withdrawing as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, writing on social media that his nomination “was unfairly becoming a distraction.” Gaetz’s withdrawal comes after meetings with Republican senators this week, as Trump’s transition team sought to gauge whether he would win enough GOP support to be confirmed. “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote on X. “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. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.” Democrats were pressing for the disclosure of a House Ethics Committee report detailing its investigation into Gaetz, including over allegations of sexual misconduct and other alleged crimes, after the panel’s Republicans voted on Wednesday not to release the probe’s results. Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations investigated by the Justice Department and the committee, including the claim that he had sex with a woman in 2017 when she was a minor.
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Republicans on the House Ethics Committee fell in line behind GOP leaders and voted not to release the results of their investigation into Donald Trump’s attorney general pick, Matt Gaetz, despite growing calls from the Senate GOP to make the findings public ahead of his confirmation hearing.
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