Matt Gaetz withdrawing as Donald Trump's pick for Attorney General
Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his nomination to be President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general.
Gaetz made the announcement via his X account on Thursday morning after spending Wednesday meeting with Senators on Capitol Hill.
"I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday," Gaetz said. "I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. 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. 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.
"I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I'm certain he will Save America."
Trump praised Gaetz on his Truth Social account shortly after Gaetz's announcement.
"I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General," Trump wrote. "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 father, Florida Sen. Don Gaetz, said he had not yet spoken in any real detail to his son and wouldn't before his son was back in Northwest Florida.
"He's on an airplane headed back to Northwest Florida," Don Gaetz said. "I suspect that for Thanksgiving, we'll not only have turkey drumsticks to fight over, but we can talk about our plans going forward."
When asked about his son's decision to withdraw, he replied, "I'm very proud of Matt's service, and I'm confident he has a very fulfilling future in front of him."
Gaetz's nomination was plagued by allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. A House Ethics Committee was investigating the allegations, but that investigation was thrown into disarray when Gaetz resigned from Congress after being nominated.
The allegations center around Gaetz allegedly paying women for sex and having sex with a 17-year-old in 2017, attorneys representing the women have told multiple media outlets.
Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations, and the Department of Justice declined to bring any charges against Gaetz after a three-year investigation. Prosecutors reportedly had credibility concerns with two witnesses.
Documents from the House Ethics Committee were leaked on Thursday that detailed $10,000 in payments Gaetz made to two women who testified to the committee, according to multiple media reports. Joel Leppard, the attorney for the two women told ABC News that Gaetz paid them for sex. Both women were over the age of 18, but one of his clients witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl at a party.
Leppard released a statement Thursday reacting to the news of Gaetz's announcement.
"My clients are relieved to have this chapter behind them and eager to move forward with their lives. We’re hopeful this brings final closure for all parties involved," Leppard said.
The House Ethics Committee was set to release a report days before Gaetz resigned, but with his resignation, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he thought the committee should not release the report because Gaetz was no longer a member of Congress. The committee has released a report before on an ex-member of Congress, but the committee, which is equally split between Republicans and Democrats, deadlocked on whether to release the Gaetz report. The committee was supposed to meet again on Dec. 5 to discuss the issue.
The Paste BN NETWORK - Florida has reached out to DeSantis and the Secretary of State's office for an update on when and if a special election will be called.
Can Matt Gaetz un-resign and take his seat back in the U.S. House of Representatives?
Gaetz resigned from Congress to be Trump's Attorney General, two days before the release of a report from the House Ethics Committee on allegations of Gaetz's sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
According to the U.S. Constitution, "When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies." Vacancies occur when "an incumbent Member dies, resigns, or leaves office for any reason before the end of their term," according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Don Gaetz said he did not know if there was anything preventing his son from jumping into the special election race for the seat he resigned or if he would even have interest in doing so.
"I have not spoke to Matt about anything like that," he said.
Don Gaetz said the race for Florida's First District Congressional seat looks to be shaping up as a competitive one, with presumably at least two members of the state House of Representatives (Michelle Salzman and Joel Rudman) and the state's chief financial officer (Jimmy Patronis) among those who have expressed interest in running. He recalled that there were seven candidates in the field in 2016 when Matt Gaetz ran for the first time.
"It wouldn't surprise me if there were multiple candidates," Don Gaetz said.
He said neither he nor Matt plan on endorsing anyone.
"I believe the people of Northwest Florida can make their decision without me telling them who to vote for," he said.
DeSantis, now back from a trade mission to Italy, had instructed Secretary of State Cord Byrd to quickly schedule special elections for Gaetz and U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, who was nominated to be Trump's next national security advisor, but that hasn't happened yet.
Some political watchers have noted that Gaetz was elected to serve in the 2025 Congress and resigned from the 118th Congress, which ends on Jan. 3, 2025.
Gaetz's wife Ginger posted a picture of the couple on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, saying, "The end of an era."
Could Gaetz run for U.S. House of Representatives again?
There is nothing stopping Gaetz from running for his old job in the special election.
He won another term in November with over 66% of the vote, although as more leaks from the ethics report come out he may not enjoy the same level of support.
Can't Gaetz just go back to Congress in January?
That's unclear.
He won re-election in November, his election was certified by the state's Elections Canvassing Commission on Tuesday, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has not yet called a special election.
Gaetz said he did not intend to take the oath of office for the 119th U.S. Congress in January. And his return may mean he's back under the cloud caused by the ethics committee's investigation.
Moreover, under the U.S. Constitution, ultimately the House "shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members...."
Could DeSantis make him Senator Gaetz?
A trend is building for DeSantis to place Gaetz in the Senate seat that opened up when Trump tapped Sen. Marco Rubio to be his Secretary of State.
If he did, Gaetz would serve until 2026 when a special election would be held to serve out the remaining two years of Rubio’s term.
However, there is already a long line of people angling or rumored for the job, including Lt. Governor Jeanette Nuñez, Attorney General Ashley Moody, former Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva, DeSantis' wife Casey, Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, or possibly even DeSantis himself.
Could Gaetz run for governor?
Both Gaetz and Waltz were considered as potential candidates for the 2026 gubernatorial, race to replace DeSantis, who is term-limited.
In 2023, NBC News reported Gaetz was considering a run for governor, but Gaetz has repeatedly said he doesn't want the job and his father told the Pensacola News-Journal his son had no plans to run for the office.
Still, at this point anything can happen.
Paste BN NETWORK - Florida reporter C.A Bridges contributed to this report.
This story has been updated to add video.