Loyalist Matt Gaetz withdraws as Trump attorney-general pick
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Mr Matt Gaetz - President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney-general - has faced allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - Right-wing firebrand Matt Gaetz on Nov 21 pulled out of the confirmation process to become US attorney-general, pitching Donald Trump’s incoming administration into fresh turmoil.
Trump had picked loyalist Mr Gaetz for the top legal position, but his candidacy was embroiled in allegations of sexual misconduct
Mr Gaetz was one of Trump’s several eye-catching selections, including Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defence secretary, vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr as health secretary, and billionaire Elon Musk to head a government cost-cutting unit.
A congressional panel had been investigating alleged illegal activity by Mr Gaetz, including sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl - which he denies - as well as drug use and misappropriating campaign funds.
He faced an uphill battle to win confirmation in the Senate, as Trump and Vice-President-elect JD Vance chose their team ahead of moving into the White House on Jan 20.
“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday,” Mr Gaetz said on X. “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.”
Ethics probe
Mr Gaetz, 42, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016 and won reelection recently, but he resigned as a congressman shortly after Trump picked him to be attorney-general.
“Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do,” Trump said in response to his withdrawal.
The ethics probe into Mr Gaetz, a deeply polarising Florida congressman, was effectively ended after he resigned from the House.
As a staunch Trump ally, Mr Gaetz - if appointed as attorney-general - could have dropped multiple criminal cases against the former president.
Mr Gaetz is known as a disruptor who earned the enmity of some House colleagues, including by engineering the ouster of fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy as speaker in 2023.
The latest transition upheaval came as new lurid details emerged about defence nominee Mr Hegseth.
He was investigated for sexual assault after a complaint from an unnamed woman at a 2017 conference in California.
The New York Times reported details from the police investigation, which was closed without Mr Hegseth being charged.
The married woman told officers that she suffered from memory loss and thought her drink might have been spiked, while Mr Hegseth said the encounter was consensual. AFP
