Matt Gaetz’s future job as America’s top law enforcement official came to a crashing end on Thursday – with a phone call from Donald Trump landing the final nail in the coffin.
Eight days after his nomination to become Trump’s attorney general, the former Florida lawmaker announced that he was withdrawing his name from consideration after realizing that he was “becoming a distraction” to the Trump-Vance transition.
The announcement came as allegations of sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl and illicit drug use resurfaced and fueled doubts that he would pass the Senate nomination process.
CNN reported that, just an hour before announcing he was stepping aside, the publication had asked Gaetz for comment about new allegations that he had had multiple sexual encounters with the underage girl.
But, according to a report, the decision to step aside came during a call between Gaetz and Trump himself.
A source told The Bulwark that the president-elect called Gaetz just hours before his withdrawal, warning him that he didn’t have enough support in the Senate.
“You don’t have the votes,” Trump told Gaetz, according to the source. “These senators aren’t moving.”
According to a second source, the former Florida lawmaker is said to have acknowledged that he was four to six Republican votes shy from the threshold needed.
He could only afford to lose two GOP votes to maintain the majority in the 100-seat upper chamber – with Republicans holding a 53 to 47 seat majority.
The source toldThe Bulwark the decision “was a mutually understood acceptance of political reality.”
“The writing was on the wall. Gaetz fell on his sword,” they added.
A source told CNN that Trump did not explicitly tell Gaetz that he should drop out of the running during the Thursday morning call.
Following Gaetz’s announcement, Trump took to Truth Social to offer both his praise and condolences, writing: “He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration.”
By the end of the day, the president-elect had nominated a new attorney general: Pam Bondi, a Trump loyalist and former attorney general of Florida.
Gaetz, who resigned from the House last Wednesday upon his nomination for attorney general, has been embroiled in controversy over resurfaced allegations.
The former congressman was the focus of a sex trafficking investigated by the Department of Justice, the agency he sought to lead, over allegations he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. The probe ended without charges and Gaetz denied all wrongdoing.
The House Ethics Committee also launched a years-long investigation into the accusations.
The panel was set to release its findings last week, but Gaetz’s resignation meant he was no longer under the committee’s jurisdiction. The committee met Wednesday to discuss potentially still releasing the report, but was deadlocked in its decision.
Initially, Trump stood by his nominee, even floating the idea of recess appointments and circumventing FBI checks.
But, ultimately, the support wasn’t there.
“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,” he posted on Thursday.
“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.”
