Washington [US], November 23: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's selection for the attorney general in his forthcoming administration, Matt Gaetz, withdrew himself from consideration for the cabinet post.
Gaetz, a former Republican congressman from Florida, decided to recuse himself after meeting with senators Wednesday and made the decision public on social media Thursday.
"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," Gaetz wrote on X.
"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 (Department of Justice) must be in place and ready on Day 1," he said.
The nomination of Gaetz has been fraught with controversy since Trump made public his intention to name Gaetz the next head of the Justice Department.
The former congressman and Trump loyalist's perceived lack of judicial experience and his sexual encounters with minors, which were investigated by the House Committee on Ethics, are what many consider to be the disqualifying factors making him unfit to take the job as the country's top prosecutor.
In a sign of refusing to back down, Trump issued a statement on Truth Social, his own social media platform, praising Gaetz.
"I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz 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. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!" Trump wrote.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition team, was quoted by CNN as saying in a statement that Trump will announce when he has made another pick. Leavitt was recently tapped by Trump as the next White House press secretary.
The Republican-led House Ethics panel voted along party lines Wednesday not to release the result of its investigation into Gaetz's potential wrongdoing, which Gaetz denied. Members of the committee decided to meet again on Dec. 5 to vote on the final report of the probe. ■
Source: Xinhua News Agency