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Earlier last week, President-elect Donald Trump chose Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general.
But on Thursday morning, President-elect Donald Trump called Gaetz with bad news that He did not have enough votes in the Senate to win confirmation, Trump told Matt Gaetz, according to a source with direct knowledge of the call.
Gaetz’s move came in the face of bipartisan pressure, especially as Democrats were pressing for the release of a House Ethics Committee report into him. In his four terms in the House, Gaetz’s fire-bombing political tactics had also alienated many people within his own party, including senators who greeted his selection for attorney general with skepticism.
Despite the public-facing optimism from Vance and Gaetz on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter said lawmakers didn’t shield Gaetz from the reality of what was to come in the confirmation process — and that Trump having picked him wouldn’t be enough to guarantee the votes he’d need.
The president-elect didn’t tell Gaetz to drop out, this source said. He didn’t have to. Early Thursday afternoon, Gaetz — who quit his seat in the House the day Trump announced he’d selected him to helm the Justice Department — wrote on social media that he was withdrawing and that his nomination “was unfairly becoming a distraction.”
Trump and members of his transition team were notified that Gaetz would be withdrawing before he made the announcement, claims, two sources familiar with the matter. Gaetz called Trump and Vance separately to inform them of his decision to withdraw, per one source familiar with the calls.
Gaetz wrote. “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,”
And By the end of the same day, Trump had announced a new pick for attorney general: Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida.
President Elect Donald Trump also said “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,” Trump posted. “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”
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