Matt Gaetz’s past was too likely to come back to bite him. That was the belief inside Trump’s inner circle as the former Florida Congressman’s nomination to be attorney general came to an end, according to Rolling Stone.
One Trump adviser told the outlet that if Gaetz had become the leader of the Department of Justice, he would probably have become “the single most blackmail-able person to ever serve as attorney general of the United States … and that’s not a risk you want to take when the whole job is going after criminals.”
Gaetz lasted eight days before throwing in the towel, convinced that he didn’t have the votes needed to be confirmed by the Senate.
In a statement on X Thursday, he said: “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.”
Hours later, Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in his place.
Gaetz’s nomination was caught up in claims that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl at a party in 2017. The Department of Justice chose not to bring charges against Gaetz after investigating him for the alleged encounter as well as claims of sex trafficking.
The 42-year-old was subsequently investigated by the House Ethics Committee, and the panel looked set to release a report of the probe last week, but Gaetz resigned before the findings were shared.
The Ethics panel only has jurisdiction over sitting members.
CNN reported Thursday that Gaetz ended his bid to become the nation’s top law enforcement officer within an hour after being asked for comment on their report into allegations that he had several sexual encounters with the girl.
Trump’s inner circle appeared to know that there could be more stories about Gaetz and his past alleged indiscretions coming.
That led to worries on Capitol Hill, the halls of the Justice Department, and among those close to the president-elect that there were simply too many unknowns about Gaetz’s past, especially with the reportedly damning Ethics Committee report possibly coming out.
Gaetz has always rejected all allegations of wrongdoing.
But the worries around Gaetz and his past haven’t booted him from Trump’s inner circle. The president-elect and Speaker Mike Johnson both issued supportive statements after Gaetz withdrew his nomination.
There are also people in Trump’s orbit who are pushing for Gaetz to get a significant role in Trump’s second White House, a way to avoid having to be confirmed by the Senate.
While Gaetz could return to Congress — he was re-elected to his Florida 1st congressional seat for the next Congress — he noted in his letter of resignation that he wasn’t intending to take the next oath of office.
A continued ethics investigation may also be a major deterrent against returning to the Capitol.
Gaetz is just one of Trump’s cabinet picks to have been accused of sexual misconduct.
Secretary of defense nominee and Fox News host Pete Hegseth was at the Capitol on Thursday to meet with Senators set to vote on his nomination.
Hegseth faces concerns about allegations from a woman who told police that he raped her at a California hotel in 2017, a claim that Hegseth has rejected, saying that it was consensual.