Matt Gaetz says he is removing himself from consideration to be the next attorney general.
In a stunning announcement, Gaetz said on Thursday, "It was clear my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition."
Last week, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Matt Gaetz for attorney general, a decision that was quickly criticized by both Democrats and Republicans. On Thursday, Trump thanked Gaetz for his efforts to try and secure the support of the senators needed for confirmation.
"Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do," Trump said on Truth Social.
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Gaetz's future in politics is unclear as he resigned from Congress after learning about his nomination. That decision was also highly criticized because it came as the House Ethics Committee was going to potentially release a report about Gaetz's alleged wrongdoing.
The committee has been investigating allegations of sexual misconduct involving Gaetz, including with a 17-year-old, along with accusations of illicit drug use and the alleged acceptance of improper gifts — all things the former congressman denies.
Speaker Mike Johnson said the report shouldn't be released since Gaetz was no longer part of the House of Representatives.
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On Wednesday, the committee was deadlocked on whether to release the report.
"This committee is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans," said Democratic Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, ranking member of the committee. "In order to affirmatively move something forward, somebody has to cross party lines and vote with the other side — which happens a lot, by the way. And we often vote unanimously. That did not happen in today's vote."
