Gaetz Withdraws from Attorney General Nomination After Sordid Allegations

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his bid for U.S. Attorney General after being nominated for the post by President-elect Trump. 

Republican senators, whose duty involves confirming presidential nominees, had been raising questions about the nominee after a series of allegations.

“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz said in a statement. “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.”

Trump said in a social media post, “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!”

The House Ethics Committee had conducted an investigation into sexual allegations against Gaetz. However, the committee did not release a report because Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress after he resigned to pursue the attorney general position.

An attorney for two women says they told the Ethics Committee that Gaetz paid them for sex, and one of them alleged she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old minor. More recently, new allegations surfaced involving 27 Venmo payments from Gaetz to the women. Their attorney said some of that money was for sex.

Gaetz denied all charges and he noted that a Justice Department investigation resulted in no charges against him.

GOP senators had said all the details would be investigated at the confirmation hearings. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said, "The reality is all that information is going to be on display at the hearing. Think Brett Kavanaugh." 

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said, "I said from the beginning that I was shocked by the nomination given the many allegations, but that's why it's important that the Senate go through its process of making sure that we have a background check, that we have a Senate investigation which involves extensive interviews and questionnaires and then a public hearing."

Others said he deserved a chance to defend himself. Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) said, "I think Matt is a very, very smart guy and these allegations will be dealt with in committee. But he deserves a chance to confront his accusers and the process is turning into a lynch mob."

More Nominees Announced

Meanwhile, Trump is forging ahead with other new picks during his transition back to the White House. 

The president-elect announced he's choosing Linda McMahon to lead the Education Department.  McMahon – the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment – led the Small Business Administration for two years in Trump's first administration.

And Trump picked another well-known face to join his team – Dr. Mehmet Oz – as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

Trump said in his announcement, “Our broken Healthcare System harms everyday Americans, and crushes our Country's budget. Dr. Oz will be a leader in incentivizing Disease Prevention, so we get the best results in the World for every dollar we spend on Healthcare in our Great Country."

Trump also revealed this week he has picked Wall Street's Howard Lutnik as his nominee for commerce secretary. 

Democrats and other opponents have criticized Trump's picks as looking like the cast of a reality TV show.