Trump AG pick Matt Gaetz says he’s retiring

On By Littum

U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks to members of the media after speaking on the House floor about a possible impeachment motion to impeach U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on 2 . October. 2023.

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

Matt Gaetz said Thursday he is withdrawing his name from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney general, ending the controversial bid that put past sexual assault allegations in the spotlight.

“I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback — and the incredible support from so many,” Gaetz said in a statement on his X account.

“While momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction from the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” said the former Republican congressman from Florida.

“There is no time to waste on an unnecessarily protracted Washington dispute, and so I will withdraw my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General,” he said.

The Department of Justice’s investigation into whether Gaetz had sex with an underage girl ended last year without charges being filed. But the House Ethics Committee later restarted its own probe of allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, accepted inappropriate gifts, provided special favors to personal contacts and attempted to obstruct government efforts to investigate him.

CNNs Paula Reid said that Gaetz’s withdrawal came less than an hour after he was contacted by the outlet for comment his report that a woman told the ethics panel that she had two sexual encounters with Gaetz in 2017 when she was 17 years old.

Gaetz has denied having sex with an underage girl.

The House of Representatives committee, which is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, deadlocked Wednesday on a vote 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 “consider this matter further.”

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 to the administration that he has a lot of respect for.”

Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, said in a statement that the president-elect “remains committed to selecting a leader of the Justice Department who will vigorously defend the Constitution and stop the weaponization of our justice system.”

Trump “will announce his new decision when it’s made,” Leavitt told CNBC.

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— CNBC’s Ece Yildirim contributed to this report.