Matt Gaetz withdraws his nomination for attorney general

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has officially withdrawn his nomination as President-elect Donald Trump's next attorney general.

In a statement posted to X, Gaetz wrote that his nomination to head the Department of Justice 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 tweeted. "Trump's DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1. I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I'm certain he will Save America."

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Click here to read Gaetz's tweet in full.