Matt Gaetz is no longer in the running to become U.S. attorney general.
President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of the former Republican lawmaker from Florida to lead the Department of Justice had raised the ire of environmental groups that are poised to fight the administration in court over the next four years.
Gaetz announced Thursday that he had met with senators but that “while the momentum was strong” for his confirmation, it had become clear that the process “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,” Gaetz posted on the social media network X. “Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
