With speculation growing that Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general might be dead on arrival in the U.S. Senate, Gaetz himself put an end to the discussion, announcing Thursday that he was withdrawing himself from consideration for the country’s highest law-enforcement role.
In a statement, Gaetz said that while he had “excellent meetings” with senators on Wednesday, his nomination had become a “distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
“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,” he said.
Last week, Donald Trump stunned the political world by announcing that he had nominated Gaetz. Critics noted the Florida representative’s significant lack of legal experience as well as well-established antagonism of the very congressional members who would need to confirm him. Gaetz’s personal liabilities are well known: He has been dogged by numerous investigations looking into allegations of an improper sexual relationship with a teenager as well as claims of sex trafficking.
Trump acknowledged Gaetz’s withdrawal in a post on TruthSocial, writing, “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!”
Gaetz’s withdrawal comes amid a growing debate on Capitol Hill on whether to release the House Ethics Committee’s final report on its investigation into his conduct. Congressional Republicans have argued that the panel no longer has jurisdiction over Gaetz, who resigned from office soon after being tapped for attorney general. Others, including many leading Democrats, have said that having a fuller picture of the committee’s findings is necessary considering the high-profile role that Gaetz was being considered for. The panel reached an impasse during a Wednesday meeting as Republicans on the committee voted against the report’s release.
Soon after Gaetz dropped out, CNN reported that it was set to run a story reporting that the ethics committee had learned of a second encounter between Gaetz and the 17-year-old girl he’s accused of having a relationship with. According to CNN, Gaetz’s withdrawal came after the outlet requested comment on their report.
As for Gaetz’s future, it’s unclear if he’ll be able to return to his seat in the House of Representatives after his hasty resignation. As noted by the Downballot, Gaetz recently won reelection for the next session of Congress that has yet to be sworn in. There’s a novel argument to be made that his resignation might count for this term but doesn’t preclude him from taking the oath come January. However, Gaetz could have his sights on another position entirely. There’s been speculation that he might attempt a bid to succeed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who will be term-limited in 2026. The state will also have an Senate special election in 2028 to fill the seat left by Marco Rubio who Trump nominated for Secretary of State after an appointee finishes out his term.
