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    House ethics committee to vote on publication of Matt Gaetz report

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    The House ethics committee will on Thursday vote on whether its long-awaited report investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and potential illegal activities involving former Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz will be made public.The report in question details allegations that Gaetz engaged in illicit drug use, misuse of campaign funds and sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl, and allegations of obstructing the House investigation. Gaetz has consistently denied the claims.The move comes weeks after Gaetz’s resignation from Congress and his withdrawal as a potential Trump administration nominee when it became clear he did not have enough support from senators to survive a confirmation hearing. Democrats, led by Representatives Sean Casten and Steve Cohen, attempted to force the report’s release through privileged resolutions, arguing that transparency is crucial.Casten’s resolution, sent to the House two days before the vote, said that withholding the report would “undermine the committee’s credibility and impede the safety, dignity, and integrity of legislative proceedings”.But should the committee side with chair and Mississippi Republican Michael Guest, the vote would fall flat, following the argument that the panel’s investigative jurisdiction ends when a member leaves Congress.“He’s no longer a member,” Guest told reporters on Thursday. “He is no longer going to be confirmed by the Senate because he withdrew his nomination to be the attorney general.”But if the committee vote comes to an impasse – a possibility due to the 50-50 ideological split – a full floor vote would be brought to the House on Thursday night, putting all lawmakers on record.The decision would either grant or hide public access to a report that has been years in the making, and which allegedly contains detailed findings about claims of sexual misconduct involving an underage girl and potential drug use.The report’s potential revelations could have significant political implications, particularly as Gaetz is rumored to be considering a bid for Florida governor in 2026 or seeking another role in the incoming Trump administration.The investigation, which has gone on for years, gained additional scrutiny after Gaetz’s associate Joel Greenberg pleaded guilty in 2021 to paying women and an underage girl for sexual services. More

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      Democrats aim to force release of Matt Gaetz ethics report

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      Congressman Sean Casten, Democrat of Illinois, introduced a privileged resolution on Tuesday demanding the House ethics committee release its investigative report on former representative Matt Gaetz, even after Gaetz withdrew from consideration after being nominated to be Donald Trump’s attorney general, amid sexual scandal.Casten’s resolution calls for immediate public disclosure of the committee’s draft report, including conclusions, recommendations and supporting materials, with provisions to protect sensitive information and witness identities.The ethics committee’s investigation was centered around serious allegations against Gaetz, including potential sexual misconduct, inappropriate congressional behavior, misuse of campaign funds, using illicit drugs, and possible bribery. Gaetz has consistently denied these claims.Casten’s move came weeks after he led 97 House Democrats in signing a letter requesting the report’s release. In this case, the resolution will force a House vote within two legislative days, though Republican leadership is expected to resist.Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has opposed releasing the report in the past, arguing that ethics investigations typically conclude when a member leaves Congress. Gaetz resigned from the House as soon as Trump nominated him to become attorney general, and when he stepped aside eight days later after it was clear he would struggle to be confirmed even with a Republican majority in the Senate, he indicated he would not seek to return to Congress.However, Casten has often pointed to previous cases, such as the 2011 investigation of former Representative Eric Massa, where investigations continued after a member’s resignation.“The committee on ethics has, on many occasions, released its reports on former members,” Casten said in a statement. “Resigning from Congress should not allow members to avoid accountability for allegations as serious as those faced by Matt Gaetz.”Johnson’s office did not reply to a request for comment on whether his stance has changed. The Republican ethics committee chair, Michael Guest, declined to comment when asked if the committee would now release the report.Congresswoman Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the committee, declined to comment.The ethics committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday to discuss next steps concerning the congressional investigation. More

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      Trump’s White House is filling with alleged sexual abusers … led by him

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      Donald Trump was found civilly liable last year for the defamation and sexual abuse of the writer E Jean Carroll – just one of the more than 27 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct. In January 2025, he will again be president of the United States – the first to take office with a court-adjudicated history of sex crimes.And it seems he’s eager to pack the White House with people just like him.Four of president-elect Trump’s cabinet-level nominees have faced serious allegations of sexual misconduct, ranging from workplace sexual harassment to assault, and a fifth is embroiled in a sexual abuse-related lawsuit.As Americans brace themselves for Trump 2.0, it’s time to be clear-eyed about the Maga machine: a history of alleged sexual criminality isn’t a bug, it’s a central part of the hardware; an organizing principle that clarifies how Trump and those like him view their power and how they intend to wield it.Trump’s first choice for attorney general, the former representative Matt Gaetz, was concurrently under investigation by the Department of Justice and the House ethics committee for allegedly violating federal sex-trafficking laws and statutory rape. The disgraced representative also reportedly bragged about his sexual conquests and showed nude photos of women to his fellow lawmakers. On Thursday afternoon, Gaetz announced he would be withdrawing his name from consideration to avoid being a “distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition”, just hours before CNN published a report about a second alleged sexual encounter between Gaetz and a 17-year-old. (The age of consent in Florida is 18.)Gaetz’s withdrawal provided a brief moment of relief. But, still, Trump’s would-be cabinet is filled with alleged criminals, all of whom the president-elect has vociferously defended, and all of whom deny wrongdoing.Elon Musk, whom Trump has tapped for the made-up position of “efficiency czar”, reportedly exposed his penis to a SpaceX flight attendant in 2016 and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for sex. Musk’s company SpaceX paid her $250,000 in 2018 to settle the sexual misconduct claim. He was also sued this year by eight former SpaceX employees, who alleged that the CEO treated “women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter”.Then there’s the nominee for secretary of defense, the Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who was accused of sexually assaulting a staff member of the California Federation of Republican Women in 2017.In the police report that was filed at the time, and which was obtained by the New York Times, the unnamed woman told law enforcement that Hegseth had taken her phone and blocked her exit from his hotel room before assaulting her. Though Hegseth was never charged with a crime, he did enter into a nondisclosure agreement with the woman, which included a financial settlement.Robert F Kennedy Jr was accused of sexually assaulting Eliza Cooney, a former family babysitter, in the late 90s. Trump now wants him to run the Department of Health and Human Services.Finally, Trump’s pick for secretary of education, Linda McMahon, was recently named in a lawsuit alleging that she and her husband, Vince McMahon, failed to stop an employee from sexually abusing children in the 1980s and 90s, when the McMahons were running World Wrestling Entertainment. (An attorney for McMahon told CNN that the lawsuit is “filled with scurrilous lies.”)These picks feel comically brazen, like shots fired directly at the #MeToo movement, which erupted in the wake of Trump’s election in 2016. It’s not a stretch to imagine that Trump, a man who has threatened to sue every one of his accusers and has openly bragged about grabbing women “by the pussy” without their consent, is attempting to exact revenge on a movement designed to use the collective to force consequences for a handful of powerful predators.#MeToo was just one piece of a slate of shifting gender norms over the last decade. Now, we’re living in the middle of a backlash.Roe v Wade has fallen, a known sexual abuser is re-entering the Oval Office, and the very online far right has found a new slogan: “Your body, my choice.”In Susan Faludi’s 1991 book Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women,she writes that these moments of backlash are not random. They are “preemptive strikes”, which “have always been triggered by the perception – accurate or not – that women are making great strides”.The perception that women were gaining status at the expense of men’s, combined with the real ways in which many men in this country are struggling economically, socially and mentally, has seemingly helped fuel the Trump campaign.Trump sneered at “childless cat ladies”, courted Joe Rogan listeners and crypto-bros, and trotted out Hulk Hogan to perform hyper-macho drag at the Republican national convention. The campaign deployed far-right influencers to wax poetic on X – which Musk owns – about the dangers of “toxic femininity” and mock the peeing habits of men who supported Kamala Harris.On election day, Trump senior adviser and noted white nationalist Stephen Miller tweeted a very particular plea: “Get every man you know to the polls.” After Trump’s win, the far right were out in full force celebrating what they clearly perceived not just as a win for their preferred political leader, but for their gender as a whole; they flooded X and TikTok with the phrases “your body, my choice” and “get back in the kitchen” and crafted supercuts of liberal women crying.Perhaps what Trump is counting on is that people who oppose the draconian agenda of his administration will be so exhausted by the piling horrors that they’ll get overwhelmed and give up – that all of the allegations will blend together and the backlash will become the norm. And yet, we know where a backlash brews, so does a resistance to it. More

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      Trump reportedly considering former senator and loyalist Kelly Loeffler for agriculture secretary – live

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      Donald Trump is expected to offer Kelly Loeffler, the former Georgia Republican senator, the position of agriculture secretary, CNN and The Hill report.According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the outlet, Trump is set to meet with Loeffler at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon.Loeffler, who is co-chairing Trump’s inauguration events, was previously appointed to the Senate by Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp and then lost in 2021 to Raphael Warnock, the Democratic senator.Vivek Ramaswamy appeared to confirm he and Elon Musk will try to stop the flow of funds that go to Planned Parenthood.“The federal government shouldn’t be in the business of giving away free money to non-governmental organizations. That should be obvious,” a Thursday post on X by Ramaswamy read.The post was a quoted reposting of a story from Life News, an anti-abortion digital news site, that bore the headline: “Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy Call for Defunding Planned Parenthood Via DOGE”.The pair will lead what they plan to call the Department of government efficiency and have made prior comments about defunding organizations like the Internal revenue service and Department of education, Forbes reported.Read more of the Guardian’s coverage about the concerted efforts to topple Planned Parenthood and deliver blows to women’s healthcare here.US Senate majority whip Dick Durbin has released a statement on Donald Trump’s nomination of Pam Bondi as the next attorney general, calling for the Senate judiciary committee to follow convention rules on customary FBI background checks. Durbin said:
      “Serious questions have been raised about Ms. Bondi’s conduct as Florida’s Attorney General and President-elect Trump’s personal attorney. The Trump transition team is moving forward with an Attorney General nominee without the customary FBI background check. After the controversial announcement and awkward withdrawal of Matt Gaetz, the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee should insist that President-elect Trump, like prior Presidents-elect of both parties, follow the rules.
      The Committee must uphold its constitutional responsibility of advice and consent on this critical position.”
      Here’s a look at where things stand:

      Donald Trump has been granted permission by the New York Judge Juan Merchan on Friday to seek dismissal of his hush money criminal case. The permission follows his presidential victory on 5 November and multiple sentencing delays surrounding the case of which he was found guilty earlier this year.

      In a statement filled with multiple falsehoods, the Donald Trump campaign hailed Merchan’s decision to grant Trump permission to seek dismissal of his hush money criminal case. Calling the decision a “decisive win”, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung falsely claimed the case – which found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsified business records – was a “hoax.”

      Donald Trump is expected to offer Kelly Loeffler, the former Georgia Republican senator, the position of agriculture secretary, CNN reports. According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the outlet, Trump is set to meet with Loeffler at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon.

      Melania Trump’s office has appointed Haley Harrison, a longtime aid, as her new chief of staff ahead of her husband Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. In a statement on Friday, Trump’s office said: “She has a strong understanding of White House operations, and as Chief of Staff, Mrs. Harrison will oversee and manage the East Wing’s team.”

      In a new interview on Friday, Matt Gaetz revealed that he will not be returning to Congress next year. Speaking to conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk, Gaetz, who withdrew his attorney general nomination yesterday, said: “I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” CNN reports.

      More than half of Americans, 53%, approve of Donald Trump’s plans and policies for his second presidential term, a new Pew Research survey has found. The survey, which was conducted between November 12 and 17 and among 9,609 adults, also found that 59% of Americans said they are very or somewhat confident in Trump to make good decisions about economic policy.
      Pam Bondi, a staunch Donald Trump loyalist and his pick to be attorney general, is continuing to receive support from Republicans on her nomination.In a post on X, senator John Cornyn of Texas wrote: “An excellent nomination by Donald Trump for attorney general.”Missouri senator Josh Hawley said Bondi will “be a fabulous AG” who will “be a fantastic partner in this effort to clean up the FBI and DOJ.”Similarly, senator Mitt Romney said Bondi “will be a highly capable leader at DOJ.”Melania Trump’s office has appointed Haley Harrison, a longtime aid, as her new chief of staff ahead of her husband Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. In a statement on Friday, Trump’s office said:
      Mrs. Harrison has maintained an integral role and exceptional leadership on the First Lady’s team over the past seven years. She has a strong understanding of White House operations, and as Chief of Staff, Mrs. Harrison will oversee and manage the East Wing’s team while strategically liaising with other parts of government.
      Donald Trump is expected to offer Kelly Loeffler, the former Georgia Republican senator, the position of agriculture secretary, CNN and The Hill report.According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the outlet, Trump is set to meet with Loeffler at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon.Loeffler, who is co-chairing Trump’s inauguration events, was previously appointed to the Senate by Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp and then lost in 2021 to Raphael Warnock, the Democratic senator.Karl Rove, a Republican strategist, has rebuked Donald Trump for bringing “chaos” back.Martin Pengelly reports for the Guardian:As Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s first nominee for attorney general, withdrew after eight days amid allegations of sexual misconduct and more, and as Trump’s new pick, Pam Bondi, faced scrutiny of her own, a leading Republican strategist rebuked the president-elect for bringing “chaos” back to Washington.“Inadequate vetting, impatience, disregard for qualifications and a thirst for revenge have created chaos and controversy for Mr Trump before he’s even in office,” said Karl Rove, once known as George W Bush’s “Brain”, in the Wall Street Journal.“The price for all this will be missed opportunities to shore up popular support for the incoming president. But at least it’ll make great TV.”For the full story, click here:In a statement filled with multiple falsehoods, the Donald Trump campaign hailed New York judge Juan Merchan’s decision to grant Trump permission to seek dismissal of his hush money criminal case.Calling the decision a “decisive win,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung falsely claimed the case – which found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsified business records – was a “hoax.”Repeating Trump’s unfounded claim that he “won a landslide victory,” Cheung added that the “American people have issued a mandate to return him to office and dispose of all remnants of the witch hunt cases” – another unfounded claim propelled by Trump in his attacks against his political enemies.Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican representative, is reportedly set to lead a new House subcommittee that will work with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, a government body that Trump claims he’ll create, to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, according to CNBC.A source familiar with the situation told the network that Greene, along with James Comer, the Republican House oversight chairman, have already met with Ramaswamy and his team, and they are “already working together”.In a statement to CNBC, Greene said she was “excited to chair this new subcommittee designed to work hand in hand with President Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the entire DOGE team”.Republican Derek Merrin has officially conceded the race for Ohio’s ninth congressional district to his Democratic opponent and veteran congresswoman, Marcy Kaptur.In a video statement posted to X, Merrin said that he had called and congratulated Kaptur for winning two more years in Congress.“I want to thank each and every person who supported our campaign,” he said. “We ran a strong race and I’m proud of the effort we made for NW Ohio.”Merrin, a fourth-term state representative who was endorsed by the president-elect, Donald Trump, lost by about 2,300 votes – or 0.7% of the vote – according to the Associated Press.“Guys, they spent over $10m against us” Merrin said in the video. “Democrats propped up a third party candidate to siphon votes from us, they hit us hard for almost 100 days in the media, and, that’s life, man, that’s politics.”He continued: “We were fortunate enough to have the money to get our message out, and outside groups were able to talk about Marcy’s record, and it was mainly a fair fight that way – and Marcy Kaptur got more votes than we did, and I accept that.”Merrin did not rule out the possibility of running for Kaptur’s seat again in the future, but stated that his immediate plans are to rest and recharge with his family.“We stood up for our constitution, we fought for lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, set a vision out for more prosperity in northwest Ohio and we weren’t able to win,” Merrin said, “but our message and team across America won.”Chuck Grassley, the incoming Senate judiciary chair, praised Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, in a statement.“Pam Bondi is a longtime prosecutor & effectively led FL large AttyGeneral’s office for 8yrs” wrote Grassley, the Republican senator from Iowa and the oldest member of the senate at 91 years old.He went on to describe Bondi as “well regarded” and “experienced” noting that he got to know her during Trump’s first term.“Will learn more as we vet her nom in judic Cmte” he added.There are several actions Joe Biden can take to protect civil liberties before Donald Trump takes the White House.The Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo reports:In less than two months, Donald Trump will take office, threatening several areas of American life and international policy. The president-elect has pledged to take aim at LGBTQ+ rights, specifically for transgender and gender-non-conforming people. He has promised to conduct mass deportations and raids as a part of a far-right approach to US immigration. And he is expected to roll back data collection practices on police misconduct and stifle any hope of passing police reform in Congress – specifically the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.Trump will largely be able to roll out his agenda, outlined in the 900-plus-page Project 2025 document, as Republicans took control of Congress during the 2024 general election. Joe Biden’s actions in his remaining time in office could be a crucial buttress against the expected impacts of the next four years.Six experts spoke with the Guardian about what the US president could do in his remaining time to protect the most vulnerable people.For the full story, click here: More

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      Matt Gaetz will not return to Congress after dropping attorney general bid

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      Matt Gaetz, the former Florida representative who this week withdrew from consideration to be US attorney general under Donald Trump, said on Friday he would not seek to return to Congress.“I’m still going to be in the fight but it’s going to be from a new perch,” Gaetz told the rightwing podcaster and radio host Charlie Kirk. “I do not intend to join the 119th Congress.”Gaetz is a dedicated far-right controversialist and staunch Trump loyalist who last year played a key role in the removal of Republican Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, the first such move ever orchestrated by a speaker’s own party.Picked for attorney general during a plane ride with Trump, Gaetz was seen as likely to carry out the president-elect’s agenda of revenge on his political enemies and pardons for allies, including those convicted over the deadly 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol by supporters of Trump who sought in vain to overturn his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.Gaetz swiftly resigned his US House seat, which he had held for nearly three full terms on Capitol Hill.His resignation pre-empted the release of a House ethics committee report into allegations of misconduct including allegedly paying for sex with a girl under the age of consent.Amid renewed controversy, Gaetz denied wrongdoing and pointed to a justice department decision to drop an investigation of the matter.Nonetheless, amid feverish speculation over the report and whether the confirmation would fail, Gaetz announced his withdrawal on Thursday.Debate followed about whether Gaetz could or would seek to return to the House when the new Congress is sworn in next year.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBut on Friday Gaetz told Kirk: “There are a number of fantastic Floridians who’ve stepped up to run for my seat, people who have inspired with their heroism, with their public service. And I’m actually excited to see north-west Florida go to new heights and have great representation.“I’m 42 now, and I’ve got other goals in life that I’m eager to pursue – my wife and my family – and so I’m going to be fighting for President Trump. I’m going to be doing whatever he asks of me, as I always have. But I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress.” More

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      Who is Pam Bondi, Trump’s new pick to lead the US justice department?

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      Pam Bondi, Donald Trump’s new pick to lead the US justice department, was the first female attorney general of Florida but is perhaps best known in recent years as a loyalist to the former president.Trump announced Bondi as his nominee for US attorney general on Thursday hours after Matt Gaetz, Trump’s first pick, bowed out of consideration amid growing Republican opposition following sexual misconduct allegations against him.“I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States. Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.Bondi has been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a thinktank set up by former Trump administration staffers, and served on Trump’s first transition team.The 59-year-old has been a longtime Trump ally – she was considered during his first term as a potential candidate for the nation’s highest law enforcement role.Trump was told by advisers that she was a good alternative to Gaetz because she has allies across the Republican party as well as inside Trump’s world, according to people familiar with the matter, the Guardian reported Thursday.Before she became involved in national politics, Bondi spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough county state attorney’s office. She was a political unknown when she was elected as Florida’s first female attorney general in 2010 and had received an endorsement from the former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.View image in fullscreenShe served as Florida’s top prosecutor from 2011 to 2019, and later as a lobbyist for US and international clients.Bondi’s tenure as attorney general also coincided with two of the most high-profile and deadly shootings the nation has seen. In 2016, after 47 people were shot and killed and more than 50 were injured in an extremist attack on an LGBTQIA+ nightclub in Orlando, Bondi was called out on-air by CNN’s Anderson Cooper over her support for a ban on same-sex marriage in the state.Two years later, 17 students and staff were shot and killed by a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. Bondi called for the death penalty for the shooter and supported then governor Rick Scott in the passage of the state’s first gun-restriction legislation, which raised the minimum age for someone to buy a gun from 18 to 21. It also appropriates millions of dollars for expanded mental health resources in schools, to build a replacement for Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school and for heightened campus security.Bondi’s ties to Trump go back years. While serving as Florida’s attorney general, she backed Trump in 2016 over a candidate from her home state, Marco Rubio.In 2016, the Associated Press revealed that Bondi had personally asked Trump for a donation to her campaign three years earlier. The funds came through a Trump family foundation, which is in violation of policies around charities engaging in politics. The $25,000 donation also came as Bondi’s office was considering joining New York in an investigation of Trump’s universities, over allegations of fraud and false promises about what training and job prospects for students would look like. Once the check arrived, Bondi declined to participate in the investigation, according to the Associated Press.Bondi did try to send the check back, the Florida Times-Union reported, but it was rejected and returned by Trump.Bondi was then one of Trump’s attorneys during his 2019 impeachment proceedings, when he was accused – but not convicted – of trying to make military assistance to Ukraine dependent on that country’s willingness to investigate Joe Biden. And during Trump’s hush-money trial, Bondi was one of a handful of Republicans to show up to court to support him.Bondi has harshly criticized the criminal cases against Trump as well as Jack Smith, the special counsel who charged Trump in two federal cases. She described Smith and other prosecutors who have charged Trump as “horrible” people “weaponizing our legal system”.If she is confirmed, Bondi will join several other members of Trump’s legal team in the justice department.The Associated Press contributed to this report More

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      Trump names Pam Bondi as attorney general pick after Gaetz steps aside

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      Donald Trump announced that he would nominate for attorney general Pam Bondi, the former Florida state attorney general, hours after the former representative Matt Gaetz withdrew in the face of opposition from Senate Republicans who had balked over a series of sexual misconduct allegations.The move to name Bondi reflected Trump’s determination to install a loyalist as the nation’s top law enforcement official and marked another instance of Trump putting his personal lawyers in the justice department.Trump almost immediately settled on Bondi as a replacement pick for Gaetz, according to people familiar with the matter. Bondi had not auditioned for the role and her loyalist credentials coupled with her willingness to defend Trump on television made her an attractive pick.View image in fullscreenThe fact that Bondi could count on broad support inside Trump’s world and the Senate Republican conference, in contrast with Gaetz who always faced an uphill struggle, also earned her the endorsement from most of Trump’s senior advisers on Thursday, the people said.“I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States. Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.“Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!”Should Bondi be confirmed by the Senate in the coming months, it would be a reward for years of her loyalty to Trump which started during the 2016 campaign, when she became an outspoken but fierce defender of his candidacy.She also helped with Trump’s legal defense during his first impeachment trial, parroted claims that the 2020 election was stolen, and continued working as a surrogate through the 2024 campaign when she attended Trump’s criminal trial in New York.Bondi’s elevation to lead the justice department would also come as a result of extraordinary serendipity, after Trump picked Gaetz almost on a whim after he decided against more conventional lawyersThe selection process for major positions has involved Trump pulling up each candidate on a bank of screens at his Mar-a-Lago club and looking for various qualities, including on their perceived loyalty and how they might play on television.Trump did not like the initial list of names that included Mark Paoletta, the former counsel at the White House office of management and budget; Missouri’s attorney general, Andrew Bailey; and Robert Guiffra, co-chair of the New York law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, and decided he preferred a pugilist like Gaetz.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBut the Gaetz nomination sank after a series of meetings on Wednesday with Republican senators. Later that evening, they broadly expressed to the Trump team their continued opposition to the Gaetz nomination, the people said.On Thursday morning, Trump called Gaetz and told him that it was clear he did not have the votes in a rare moment of realpolitik for Trump. Gaetz agreed and took himself out of the running, one of the people said.Gaetz told associates after he announced he was withdrawing his nomination that he faced the reality that at least three senators – Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski – and senator-elect John Curtis, would vote against him and block his confirmation, the people said.From his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump said in a statement: “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.” More

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      Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be Trump’s attorney general

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      Matt Gaetz, the former Florida congressman, withdrew from consideration to serve as Donald Trump’s attorney general on Thursday, amid intense scrutiny of allegations of sexual misconduct, ending the brief nomination of one of Trump’s most controversial cabinet picks.After meeting with senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Gaetz determined that his nomination was “becoming a distraction to the critical work” of the new Trump administration, he explained 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 [justice department] must be in place and ready on Day 1,” Gaetz said.“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.”A source familiar with Gaetz’s nomination process told the Guardian that privately confirmed opposition from four senators – enough to sink the nomination if no Democrats defected – was what pushed Gaetz to decide to withdraw.The announcement comes a little more than a week after Trump said he was nominating Gaetz to be attorney general, the chief law enforcement officer of the United States.A staunch Trump ally disliked by some fellow Republicans in Congress, Gaetz always faced an uphill battle to be confirmed. He came under intense scrutiny last week over allegations he had sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl.The justice department declined to charge Gaetz last year as part of a sex-trafficking investigation. But details of his encounter and relationships were beginning to seep out. Just before he announced he was withdrawing his nomination, CNN reported that the woman he is alleged to have had sex with when she was 17 told the House ethics committee there had been a second sexual encounter with Gaetz.ABC News and the New York Times reported earlier this week on records of Venmo transactions connecting Gaetz to women who said that he paid them for sex.Gaetz’s announcement comes one day after the House ethics committee deadlocked over releasing its report on the allegations. At least one House Democrat on the committee, Representative Sean Casten of Illinois, said on Thursday he would continue to push for the full release of the Gaetz report.In a post on Truth Social, Trump, who had reportedly been calling senators to lobby for Gaetz’s confirmation, said that “Matt has a wonderful future”.“I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,” he wrote. “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!”A staunch Trump ally known for theatrics such as wearing a gas mask on the House floor, Gaetz resigned from Congress the day Trump announced his nomination. It is unclear who Trump will now pick to lead the justice department, which the president-elect has pledged to use to prosecute his enemies.Gaetz’s withdrawal comes as Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, faces accusations of sexual assault. A police report made public this week contains allegations from a woman regarding a 2017 encounter with Hegseth in which she says he took her phone, blocked her from leaving his hotel room and sexually assaulted her. Hegseth has denied the allegations.“Matt Gaetz was a ridiculous, horrible and dangerous AG selection. That Republican senators were not willing to rubber-stamp his nomination is a hopeful sign that a modicum of sanity persists in Washington,” said Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a watchdog group, in a statement. “But Gaetz was not the only Trump nomination threatening America and there’s every reason to worry about who Trump will appoint in Gaetz’s stead.”Additional reporting from Martin Pengelly More