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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Donald Trump started over on his search for an attorney general on Thursday, ending up with former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi hours after Matt Gaetz’s surprise withdrawal.
Names of potential replacements were quickly swirling inside Trump’s network. The president-elect had focused on his Treasury secretary pick this week, as well as who to choose to head up the FBI.
Some outside Trump allies and transition team members had floated Todd Blanche, Trump’s personal lawyer who is currently his pick to be deputy attorney general, as a possible new nominee to lead the Justice Department. Another name that resurfaced is Missouri’s attorney general, Andrew Bailey, who was originally being floated for the job. But Bondi ultimately prevailed, with Trump hailing her service on an opioid commission during his first term.
“If it’s not too late, I’d call back Matt Whitaker,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., referring to a former Trump official who’s already been tapped as the next US ambassador to NATO. “I think he’s built for this. I think he can do the job, I think he can be just as ball-busting as Matt Gaetz, but he can probably do it in a kinder, gentler way and be more effective at it.”
Other GOP senators were loath to weigh in on behalf of a specific candidate after the last few days of upheaval that followed the surprise Gaetz pick. And their silence made sense by Thursday night, when Trump announced a new attorney general choice in head-spinning fashion that fit the pace of the past few days.
“I don’t have any advice. No advice … you’re not going to draw me into that. I’ll leave it to the president,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
Both Hawley and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Thursday they want to stay in Congress rather than join the Trump administration. Fellow Senate Judiciary Committee member Mike Lee, R-Utah, had previously indicated he wants to remain a senator as well.
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The president-elect tapped Gaetz, a close ally, on a whim last week — coming to the decision over the course of a plane ride from Washington to West Palm Beach, and stunning lawmakers in the process. Allegations of sexual misconduct against Gaetz, combined with a very poor whip count in the Senate, proved too big to overcome: The former congressman, who resigned from Congress the day Trump announced his intention to nominate him as attorney general, said Thursday on X that it was “clear” his “confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who said she was “shocked” by Gaetz’s nomination last week, said Thursday that “I am glad that he decided to withdraw. He clearly put the country’s interests first.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, who met with Gaetz this week, said he would leave the next AG choice “up to them.”
“Some people make it, some people don’t,” he said of Gaetz’s fate.
Gaetz spoke by phone with Trump on Thursday morning to discuss the decision to step aside. Many people close to Trump were surprised by the news — his confirmation team was still being compiled as recently as Wednesday night, one person familiar with the process told Semafor.
The Florida Republican also conducted meetings with senators this week, alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance, that suggested he would continue moving forward.
Still, Republicans estimated there were more than a half-dozen private no votes already for Gaetz, who’s still facing the possible release of a House Ethics Committee report into allegations of sexual misconduct. Given that, his withdrawal opens the door for Trump to pick a new nominee with a better chance of winning a confirmation vote.
The View From Democrats
Democrats were widely opposed to the Gaetz nomination and openly hoping Trump’s next choice will be “a serious nominee,” as Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois put it.
“A qualified nominee for the highest position in law enforcement in America must be honest and complete in disclosing his background. Mr. Gaetz did not meet that standard,” Durbin said. “The Senate must uphold its constitutional responsibility of advice and consent on this critical position.”
Shelby and Burgess’ View
Gaetz’s decision to step aside is a small institutional win for Republican senators who were concerned about his inability to get confirmed and the possibility of a subsequent recess appointment. It’s also an early blow to Trump, who had hoped to successfully lobby senators for his full slate of picks.
But Trump still has ample time to nominate an attorney general who Republicans can confirm more easily in January — and Bondi may be that person. The bigger question, now, is whether Gaetz’s withdrawal ends up helping or hurting when it comes to winning the votes to confirm Trump’s other unorthodox picks, like Tulsi Gabbard as national intelligence director and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary.
Room for Disagreement
Not every senator appeared to see Gaetz’s nomination as a disaster waiting to happen. After meeting with Gaetz earlier this week, Cruz said “it was important that he have a full and fair hearing and the Senate move promptly.”
“I assume, based on the announcement today, that there were significant challenges to Senate confirmation,” Cruz added.
Morgan Chalfant contributed.