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. According to a source, there was another adult woman 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.
“It is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” GaetzwroteThursdayon X.
“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 operational and prepared,” he continued.
Gaetzon Truth Socialand has been doing “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. Trump wrote.
After Gaetz removed his name from consideration, there was a general feeling of relief inside the Justice Department, one official told NBC News, Some things happen as expected, such as the sun driving away the night’s darkness. However, that doesn’t make me any less thankful for every sunrise.
“I now know what will be the first feather on my gratitude handprint turkey this Thanksgiving,” the office continued.
The decision was hailed as a relief by another Justice Department official, who also said that it’s difficult to imagine [Trump] selecting someone worse. However, we shall see.
The president-elect selected former Florida attorney general Pam Bondia, a close Trump ally, as his next attorney general a few hours after Gaetz’s declaration.
Gaetz informed Trump 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 that means for Trump’s choice of Todd Blanche 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 because the [House Ethics] report was about to leak.
Trump appointed Gaetz as his attorney general this week, but the Justice Department, which he would have headed if confirmed, also looked into claims of sex trafficking and having sex with a juvenile. The Justice Department decided not to charge Gaetz at the conclusion of the investigation, and he has strongly refuted those accusations.
The Ethics Committee’s probe was essentially terminated last week when he resigned from the House. Since 2021, the committee had been intermittently investigating the accusations made against him.
A lawyer for two women who claim Gaetz paid them for sex described earlier this week part of the testimony made to the 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 did not reach a consensus at their meeting on Wednesday over whether or not to release the report.
With Gaetz’s withdrawal, it’s unclear what the Ethics Committee will do. On December 5, its members will gather once more to continue their discussion of the issue.
According to meeting transcripts acquired by NBC News, staffers informed Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., during the Ethics Committee’s closed-door meeting on July 23 that a draft report on the committee’s probe was sufficiently advanced to be distributed to all committee members.
That day, staffers and members had assembled to remove Gaetz personally, but he never appeared.
Gaetz’s withdrawal should put a stop to committee members’ deliberations over 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.
On Thursday morning, Vance had been 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.
Before Gaetz’s news broke, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who has opposed making the ethics report publicly available, also departed the building; he and the House won’t be back until after Thanksgiving recess.
He is unlikely to receive enough votes to be confirmed, according to senators from both parties.
Five people with direct knowledge claim that at least five Senate Republicans—Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, and Sen.-elect John Curtis of Utah—were “noes” on Gaetz and had told other senators and Trump associates that they were unlikely to be persuaded.
At least 20 and possibly as many as 30 Senate Republicans, according to one source, felt extremely uneasy about having to cast a floor vote for Gaetz. If Vance cast a tiebreaking vote, Gaetz would only have 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 during their meeting with Gaetz on Wednesday.
Ernst claimed that during their conversation, Gaetz raised the accusations directly.
“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. The new chair of the Judiciary Committee is Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa.
Collins told reporters that there were several warning signs about Gaetz after his statement on Thursday and that it was the wisest course of action for him to withdraw.
I believe that most likely reflects the talks he had with senators yesterday as they began interviewing members of the Judiciary Committee. I’m not positive, but I believe he has prioritized his country, and I’m happy with his choice,” she continued.
I accept former Representative Matt Gaetz’s decision to remove his name from consideration and appreciate his readiness to serve at the highest level of our government, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who openly supported Gaetz’s nomination, wrote on X on Thursday.
“I think it’s a good thing” that Gaetz left, Mullin said on Thursday in an interview with NBC News. “There was no way, no path forward for him,” he stated.
In his resignation, Gaetz stated that he would not take the oath of office in the upcoming 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 choice for his congressional seat are unknown.
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