Former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal as President-elect Trump’s nominee for lawyer common amid rising fallout over intercourse trafficking allegations could show problematic for Trump’s different controversial picks for prime administration positions.
Gaetz took his identify out of consideration Thursday as Pete Hegseth, Trump’s option to function protection secretary, was wrapping up conferences on Capitol Hill with senators.
Hegseth, who was joined by Vice President-elect JD Vance, can be going through sexual misconduct allegations from a 2017 encounter. Scrutiny elevated late Wednesday night time after police in Monterey, California, launched a report in regards to the allegations.
GAETZ WITHDRAWS NAME AS ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE
President-elect Trump’s nominee to be lawyer common, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., proper, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, stroll out of a gathering with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members on the Capitol in Washington Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photograph/Ben Curtis)
“The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth instructed reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday. Via his lawyer, he has additionally acknowledged the sexual encounter however has mentioned it was consensual.
Trump’s transition crew spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt known as Hegseth “a highly-respected combat veteran who will honorably serve our country when he is confirmed as the next secretary of defense.”
WHOM WILL TRUMP PICK NEXT FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL?
However with Gaetz now out of the firing line, Hegseth, an Military Nationwide Guard officer who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and who, till earlier this month, was a high-profile Fox Information host, is prone to face extra consideration from the media and from senators.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s decide for secretary of protection, speaks with reporters after a gathering with senators on Capitol Hill Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photograph/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, taking questions from reporters after Gaetz introduced he was dropping out of consideration, was requested in regards to the allegations towards Hegseth.
“It’s a pretty big problem given that we have … a sexual assault problem in our military,” Cramer mentioned.
The senator added he is “not going to prejudge,” however that “it’s a pretty concerning accusation.”
Trump’s transition crew on Thursday afternoon blasted out an e mail titled, “Pete Hegseth Earns Strong Support On Capitol Hill,” which spotlighted optimistic quotes from 11 GOP senators, together with a snippet from Cramer.
And a supply near Trump’s transition crew instructed Fox Information “the transition team doesn’t think the issues Gaetz faced are a wider problem.”
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. arrives earlier than President-elect Trump speaks throughout an America First Coverage Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago property Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Seashore, Fla. (AP Photograph/Alex Brandon)
However scrutiny will probably additionally enhance for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Trump’s picks for Well being and Human Providers secretary and director of nationwide intelligence, as they each face potential blowback for previous controversial feedback.
“I would be more worried if I was them,” a distinct supply in Trump’s political orbit instructed Fox Information when requested about Hegseth, Kennedy and Gabbard.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina mentioned there are “some things” Kennedy ought to “get ahead of” earlier than courting senators on Capitol Hill.
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However a Republican strategist who has suggested Republican senators pointed to Gaetz as a sacrificial lamb.
“There’s always one” that goes down who “gives cover to the others,” the supply, who requested to stay nameless to talk extra freely, mentioned.
The strategist mentioned Hegseth, Gabbard and Kennedy “all have their work cut out for them,” however that “the [GOP] conference is going to be much happier now going forward. … Gaetz was the only one that was a non-starter.”
Fox Information Kelly Phares and Meghan Tome contributed to this report
