Gaetz was reportedly concerned about four Senate Republicans blocking his confirmation as U.S. attorney general.
Former Congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s U.S. attorney general over concerns that four GOP senators would block his confirmation, according to The New York Times.
Trump nominated Gaetz to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) on November 13. Gaetz promptly resigned from Congress soon after, effectively blocking the release of a House Ethics Committee report on allegations of sexual abuse and drug use. However, doubts about his Senate confirmation lingered.
After holding what he said were “excellent meetings” with Republican senators throughout Wednesday, Gaetz announced on Thursday afternoon that he would not be pursuing the attorney general job because his “confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
Gaetz told associates that he believed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine and Senator-elect John Curtis of Utah were fully opposed to his nomination and would effectively kill his bid to lead DOJ, New York Times journalist Jonathan Swan reported on Thursday.
