Eight days after his shocking nomination for attorney general by President-elect Donald Trump, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration.
In his place will be former two-term Florida attorney general — Pam Bondi.
Trump announced his decision on Truth Social, writing, “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting crime, and Making America Safe Again”
Bondi is a longtime ally of Trump. She was a 2020 election denier, one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial, and the head of the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank comprised of former Trump staffers.
Supporters say her experience as Florida’s top prosecutor for eight years makes her a safer pick.
The unpopular congressman’s resignation came as the House Ethics Committee was deadlocked on whether or not to release its bipartisan investigation into his allegations of sex trafficking and drug use.
The Republican firebrand’s reputation in Congress was also damaged after leading a coalition to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Senate Republicans who spoke with Gaetz during his visit to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, including Texas’ John Cornyn, said that they wanted to see the report before deciding on Gaetz’s confirmation.
Sen. Cornyn said he told Gaetz, “Everything’s eventually going to come out.”
Gaetz announced his resignation on social media platform X, writing, “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.”
Trump later wrote on Truth Social, “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!”
This is Trump’s first political setback, just 17 days after winning back the White House.
In a week where Vice President-elect JD Vance is trying to sell some of his most controversial Cabinet picks on Capitol Hill, Trump might start to get an indication of how much sway he will be afforded in the new Republican-led Senate.
Vance brought defense secretary nominee and Fox News host Pete Hegseth to meet with senators yesterday.
Hegseth was asked about sexual assault allegations made against him.
“I’ll keep this very simple,” said Hegseth. “The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared and that’s where I’m going to leave it. Thank you very much.”
A police report released Wednesday said Hegseth blocked a hotel room door when the woman tried to leave and sexually assaulted her at a Republican conference in California in 2017. Some news outlets reported that he paid the woman an undisclosed sum of money as part of a settlement, which caught the Trump transition team by surprise as Hegseth did not tell them about the money.
Congress is in recess for the Thanksgiving holiday and when they return, legislators say the Hegseth nomination is a top consideration.
