Trump AG pick Matt Gaetz says he's withdrawing

US Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks to members of the media after speaking on the House floor about a possible Motion to Vacate to oust US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 2, 2023.

Matt Gaetz said Thursday he is withdrawing as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.S. attorney general, ending the controversial bid that put prior allegations of sexual misconduct in the spotlight.

"I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many," Gaetz said in a statement posted on his X account.

"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," said the former Republican congressman from Florida.

"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 said.

The Department of Justice's investigation into whether Gaetz sex trafficked a minor girl ended last year without charges being filed. But the House Ethics Committee later restarted its own probe of allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, gave special favors to personal contacts, and tried to obstruct government efforts to investigate him.

CNN's Paula Reid said that Gaetz's withdrawal came less than an hour after he was contacted by the outlet for comment on its report that a woman told the ethics panel that she had had two sexual encounters with Gaetz in 2017, when she was 17 years old.

Gaetz has denied having sex with an underage girl. His decision to resign from Congress after being tapped for AG effectively ended the ethics probe by removing him from the committee's jurisdiction.

The House committee, which is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, on Wednesday deadlocked on a vote to release a report on its probe of Gaetz.

Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the committee's ranking Democrat, said the members agreed to reconvene on Dec. 5 to "further consider this matter."

Trump said on Truth Social later Thursday that Gaetz "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."