On Thursday, former Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, declared that he will not be running for president-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general position.
Numerous claims of sexual misconduct, including having sex with a teenager at a party in 2017, clouded Gaetz’s future.The House Ethics Committee, which had been looking into Gaetz, was informed that a 17-year-old girl had two sex encounters with the then-congressman during the party, according to a source who spoke to NBC News on Thursday.
She described the second encounter in a deposition in a related civil lawsuit and in testimony to the House Ethics Committee. A familiar source claims that another adult woman was involved in the second sexual encounter.
The first outlet to report on the fresh accusations was CNN. Gaetz has denied claims of sexual misbehavior on several occasions.
In a post on Xon Thursday, Gaetzwrote, “It is evident that my confirmation was unjustly becoming a distraction to the crucial work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
“I will be removing my name from consideration to be Attorney General because there is no time to squander on an unnecessary, drawn-out Washington dispute. On Day 1, Trump’s DOJ needs to be established and operational,” Gaetz continued.
In a TruthSocial post, Gaetz has been performing “very well” in the confirmation process, according to Trump, who commended him.
“Matt Gaetz’s recent efforts to obtain approval to serve as Attorney General are deeply appreciated. Although he was doing extremely well, he did not want to cause any trouble for the Administration, which he really admires. “I’m excited to see all the amazing things Matt will accomplish in the future,” the president-elect added.
Trump refrained from appointing another attorney general right away. Karoline Leavitt, his spokesperson, stated that the president-elect “remains committed to choosing a leader for the Department of Justice who will strongly defend the Constitution and end the weaponization of our justice system.”
Gaetz informed the president-elect of his choice Thursday morning, according to two Trump transition insiders who spoke to NBC News directly about it. The decision to opt out was Gaetz’s.
According to one of the individuals, Gaetz’s confirmation was always going to be difficult, and Trump is anticipated to meet with a fresh group of attorney general candidates shortly, with no one in particular at the top of the list. What this implies for Todd Blanche, whom Trump appointed as Gaetz’s deputy, is unknown.
The transition team applauded Gaetz’s departure, according to a third source close to Trump who told NBC News that Matt couldn’t make it since the [House Ethics] report was about to leak.
The Justice Department, which Trump would have led if confirmed, also looked into Gaetz, who he picked last week as his AG, in connection with claims of sex trafficking and having sex with a juvenile. Gaetz has strongly refuted the claims, and the Justice Department decided not to charge him at the conclusion of the investigation.
The House Ethics Committee’s inquiry into him was essentially concluded last week when he resigned from his post in the House.Since 2021, the committee had been intermittently investigating the claims made against Gaetz.
A lawyer for two women who claim Gaetz paid them for sex described earlier this week part of the testimony made to the House Ethics Committee this year. One of the women claimed to have seen Gaetz have sex with a 17-year-old.
Following Gaetz’s declaration on Thursday, attorney Joel Leppard stated, “My clients are happy to have this chapter behind them and excited to move forward with their lives.” “We hope that this provides everyone involved with ultimate closure.
Committee members convened on Wednesday to debate whether to make the investigation’s report public, but they were unable to reach a consensus.
With Gaetz’s withdrawal, it’s unclear what the Ethics panel will do. Its members will continue to consider the issue at their next meeting on December 5.
According to meeting transcripts obtained by NBC News, House Ethics Committee staff informed Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., during its closed-door meeting on July 23 that a draft report on the committee’s investigation into Gaetz’s sexual misconduct was advanced enough to be distributed to all committee members.
That day, staff and members had assembled to remove Gaetz directly, but he never showed up.
Gaetz’s withdrawal should put a stop to the Ethics Committee’s deliberations about their future, the guest told reporters.
“He is no longer a member of Congress, and so I think that this settles any involvement that the ethics committee should have in any matters involving Mr. Gaetz,” Guest stated.
A number of Democrats in the House had demanded that the study be made public. Republicans in the Senate who would have had to vote to confirm Gaetz publicly said that they would have liked to see the study included in the confirmation process.
Trump even “heavily worked the phones” to rally support for Gaetz, and he and vice president-elect JD Vance remained steadfast in their support of the candidate.
Vance had spent Thursday morning on Capitol Hill arranging talks between senators and another contentious choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. However, he left the Capitol just before Gaetz’s announcement. Additionally, Hegseth is accused of misbehavior, which he has refuted.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., who had opposed the ethics investigation on Gaetz being made public, also departed the Capitol before the news about the Florida Republican emerged. He and the House won’t be back until after Thanksgiving holiday.
He is unlikely to receive enough votes to be confirmed, according to senators from both parties.
According to five people with direct knowledge, at least five Senate Republicans—Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, and Sen-elect John Curtis of Utah—were against Gaetz and had told other senators and Trump associates that they were unlikely to be persuaded.
According to a source who spoke to NBC News, at least 20 Senate Republicans—and possibly as many as 30—were extremely uneasy about having to cast their votes for Gaetz on the Senate floor. If Vance had voted to break the tie, Gaetz could only afford to lose three Republicans in a floor vote.
Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told NBC News that the topic of the accusations came up after their meeting with Gaetz on Wednesday.
Ernst claimed that during their conversation, Gaetz personally brought up the accusations.
“I think a lot of this will be flushed out when he goes through a very fair confirmation process with Senator Grassley, but that’s all I’m going to say,” Ernst continued. “He was very forthcoming.” I’m just holding off on making a decision.
Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, told reporters after Gaetz’s statement Thursday that he had several warning signs and that it was right for him to resign.
I believe that most likely reflects the talks he had with senators yesterday as they began interviewing members of the Judiciary Committee. Collins continued, “I don’t know that for sure, but I think he has put country first, and I’m pleased with his decision.”
In an XThursday post, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who openly backed Gaetz’s nomination, expressed her admiration for his determination to serve at the highest level of our government and her appreciation for former Representative Matt Gaetz’s choice to remove his name from consideration.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told NBC News Thursday after Gaetz ended the process. “There was no way. When asked if he thought there was a chance for Gaetz to be confirmed, Mullin responded, “No path forward for him.”
In his resignation, Gaetz stated that he would not swear allegiance to the next Congress. He stated that he has no intention of taking the oath of office for the same position in the 119th Congress in order to seek the Attorney General position in the Trump administration.
The implications of his decision to remove his name from consideration for Trump’s Cabinet for his congressional seat are unknown.
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