海角大神

Former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has withdrawn from consideration to be attorney general, the first major setback for incoming President Donald Trump and a sign that there are still lines that Senate Republicans won鈥檛 cross.

鈥淭here is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I鈥檒l be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump鈥檚 DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1,鈥� Mr. Gaetz posted on X Thursday afternoon.

Mr. Gaetz鈥檚 nomination to oversee the Justice Department had landed like a lead balloon in the Senate. Multiple Republican senators expressed shock and concern over the potential elevation of a man who until recently faced a Justice Department investigation into sexual misconduct allegations (he wasn鈥檛 charged). He bowed out from consideration just one day after taking initial meetings with a number of key GOP senators.

The episode indicates that there are enough GOP members who won鈥檛 let Mr. Trump put whomever he wants into positions of immense power.

Mr. Gaetz was a controversial figure for the position. His nomination came just days before the bipartisan House Ethics Committee had planned to release its report on his alleged sexual misconduct. In recent days, the lawyer to two women who testified before the committee that Mr. Gaetz paid those women for sex 鈥� and that one of them had witnessed him having sex with another woman who was 17 years old at the time.聽

Mr. Gaetz also has a long history of picking fights with other Republicans 鈥撀爃e played a key role in toppling House Speaker Kevin McCarthy 鈥撀爓hich left him with some enemies within his own party.

Mr. Trump thanked Mr. Gaetz, his close ally and longtime defender, following the withdrawal.

鈥淚 greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,鈥� the president-elect said in a . 鈥淗e 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!鈥�

It鈥檚 unclear whom Mr. Trump might select to replace Mr. Gaetz, but he鈥檚 made it clear that it鈥檚 a top priority for him to find a loyal ally to lead the Justice Department. The president-elect聽 of three of his personal attorneys from his criminal defense cases to top DOJ positions, and could potentially elevate one of them to replace Mr. Gaetz.

There鈥檚 been speculation that Mr. Gaetz might have been a sacrificial lamb, who gave Republicans an opportunity to show independence on nominations and would draw fire away from other controversial picks. But Mr. Trump reportedly was serious about getting Mr. Gaetz into power. And if the point were to keep the attention off Mr. Trump鈥檚 other nominees, Mr. Gaetz didn鈥檛 help that effort by withdrawing from consideration just one week after being nominated, and long before confirmation hearings would take place.

Other Trump nominees might face tough scrutiny as well 鈥撀燼nd aren鈥檛 guaranteed confirmation in the GOP-controlled Senate. Pete Hegseth, Mr. Trump鈥檚 pick for secretary of Defense, faces an accusation of rape (police didn鈥檛 charge him in the case) as well as questions about whether he holds 海角大神 nationalist and other controversial views. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 nomination to head the Department of Health & Human Services may face resistance because of his expressed skepticism of vaccines and other medical treatments. Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will face tough questions about her views on Russia and Syria before her nomination to be Director of National Intelligence.

Senate Republicans are likely to confirm the vast majority of Mr. Trump鈥檚 choices, but this shows that at least some of them plan to take seriously their advise-and-consent role for nominations.