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Former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdraws as Trump's attorney general pick

Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who President-elect Donald Trump had nominated to be attorney general, walks alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance as they arrive for meetings with senators at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 20, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch
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Getty Images
Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who President-elect Donald Trump had nominated to be attorney general, walks alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance as they arrive for meetings with senators at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 20, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is withdrawing his candidacy to be President-elect Trump's attorney general, after sex trafficking and drug use allegations imperiled his nomination.

After meeting with Republican senators to discuss his nomination, Gaetz wrote on social media Thursday that "it is clear that my confirmation 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," he continued.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Lexie Schapitl
Lexie Schapitl is a production assistant with NPR's Washington Desk, where she produces radio pieces and digital content. She also reports from the field and assists with production of the NPR Politics Podcast.
Deirdre Walsh
Deirdre Walsh is the congress editor for NPR's Washington Desk.
Elena Moore
Elena Moore is a production assistant for the NPR Politics Podcast. She also fills in as a reporter for the NewsDesk. Moore previously worked as a production assistant for Morning Edition. During the 2020 presidential campaign, she worked for the Washington Desk as an editorial assistant, doing both research and reporting. Before coming to NPR, Moore worked at NBC News. She is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and is originally and proudly from Brooklyn, N.Y.
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