Many of Donald Trump’s picks for his cabinet have raised eyebrows, both in the United States and abroad.
But perhaps the most divisive was Matt Gaetz, who the president-elect initially tapped to be the United States’ next attorney-general.
Gaetz’s nomination was met with backlash from multiple Republican senators, as well as Democrats and former White House officials.
The former Florida congressman has no experience as a federal prosecutor — and has been the subject of separate investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the House Ethics Committee over alleged criminal activity, including having sex with a 17-year-old girl.
The backlash has now led him to withdraw from consideration for the position, calling the controversy an “unfair distraction” to “the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition”.
Here’s everything you need to know about Gaetz, the allegations against him, and how they derailed his chances of becoming the US’ top law enforcement official.
Who is Matt Gaetz?
Gaetz was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2016. He voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results.
The 42-year-old is the son of a state senator and grew up in a house that was used as the setting for Jim Carrey’s film The Truman Show.
Gaetz has built his career on railing against the establishment, first in Florida’s state house and, in recent years, as a US congressman.
Matt Gaetz had been a controversial pick for attorney-general. Source: Getty / Mario Tama
Just months into his first term, he began casting himself as a “tireless defender” of Trump and was soon running with the House Freedom Caucus, a Republican Party awkward squad that routinely rails against the very notion of government.
With his leonine mane, a Hollywood smile and a sense of showmanship, Gaetz quickly became a household name among his Fox News-watching natural constituency.
Whether that was his nomination of Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize, his barging into a House Intelligence Committee meeting, or his wearing a gas mask during a vote on COVID-19 funding measures.
Gaetz is widely disliked by his fellow Republicans in Congress, where he led a successful effort to force out House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year that threw the chamber into chaos for several weeks.
As attorney-general, he would have headed a Department of Justice (DOJ) that’s expected to drop a string of criminal cases against Trump.
Trump praised Gaetz as someone who would “root out systemic corruption” at DOJ.
Daniel Richman, a criminal law professor at Columbia University, said Gaetz was “somebody who has demonstrated a clear disdain for the process of the Department of Justice”.
Trump would have likely ensured Gaetz had allies at his disposal, Richman said.
“We have to assume there are agents and prosecutors ready to carry out some vindictive agenda on the attorney general’s part,” he said.
Trump’s personal attorneys, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who defended him during his trial this year over , were named as deputies to Gaetz.
Why was Gaetz a controversial choice for attorney-general?
Given he’s never held a position at the DOJ or worked as a prosecutor, Gaetz would have been an unconventional choice for the US’ top law enforcement official.
Beyond his lack of professional qualifications, he’s also been the subject of a three-year FBI investigation over sex trafficking allegations.
He has denied wrongdoing and the investigation ended without producing any criminal charges.
Gaetz has since called for the FBI, the nation’s most prominent law enforcement agency, to be dismantled.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who would have voted on Gaetz’s nomination for attorney-general, asked the FBI to turn over its investigative file on him.
Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee has been investigating allegations of illegal activity by Gaetz.
His alleged crimes include sexual misconduct, drug use, misappropriating campaign funds, and other illicit activity.
Gaetz’s resignation from Congress — which was required in order for him to be eligible to serve in Trump’s cabinet — effectively ended the investigation and created uncertainty over the release of its report.
Matt Gaetz withdraws from attorney-general consideration
On Thursday (local time), Gaetz posted on social media platform 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.
“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.”
Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform that despite Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal, he had a “wonderful future” ahead of him. Source: Getty / Anna Moneymaker
Trump, posting to his Truth Social platform, wrote that he “greatly appreciated” Gaetz’s efforts in seeking approval to be attorney-general.
“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 said. “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”
Will the House Ethics Committee’s report be released?
The House Ethics Committee met behind closed doors earlier this week to consider the report’s release, but Democrats and Republicans on the panel split along partisan lines in a 5-5 vote.
Elected officials from both parties called for it to at least be shared with the US Senate, which votes on cabinet nominations.
House Ethics Committee chair Michael Guest has said that Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from his attorney-general bid should end the discussion about whether the committee should “continue to move forward in this matter”.
