Matt Gaetz says he is removing himself from consideration to be the next U.S. Attorney General.
In a stunning announcement, Gaetz said on Thursday, "It was clear my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition."
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gaetz to be the attorney general last week. The nomination was immediately met with pushback from Democrats and Republicans.
Gaetz has faced serious allegations involving his personal life. In 2021, Gaetz was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl and violating federal sex trafficking laws, but the Department of Justice said it would not bring charges against him last year after a multi-year investigation into the allegations.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, however, his actions have also been subject to a bipartisan House Ethics Committee.
It's unclear what Gaetz's future holds as he resigned from Congress shortly after being nominated for the attorney general job.
