Matt Gaetz withdraws attorney general nomination

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz announced Thursday that he was removing himself from consideration to become President-elect Donald Trump‘s attorney general, ending a weeklong fixation in Washington on Trump’s surprise choice to lead the Justice Department.

Gaetz said in a statement that after meeting with numerous senators and attracting a barrage of media reports over his controversial nomination, it had become apparent that his confirmation pursuit was “unfairly becoming a distraction.”