Trump names Pam Bondi as attorney-general nominee after Matt Gaetz withdraws

Washington: Far-right Republican Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his bid to become Donald Trump’s attorney-general amid ongoing revelations of alleged sexual misconduct involving an underage girl.

A few hours later, Trump nominated former Florida attorney-general Pam Bondi as his replacement pick.

A day after lobbying senators in Washington to approve his controversial nomination, Gaetz announced he would remove his name from consideration – a move that will allow Republicans who had private concerns about him to avoid defying Trump over who should be America’s top law official.

Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s controversial pick for US attorney-general.Credit: AP

“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,” Gaetz said in a statement posted on X on Thursday afternoon (Friday AEDT).

“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 DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”

Soon after, Trump posted: “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. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”

Gaetz (left) shows his support for Donald Trump during the latter’s hush money trial in New York in May.Credit: AP

Gaetz’s decision came amid a wave of scrutiny over allegations of sex trafficking for which he was previously investigated by the Justice Department but not charged. He has consistently denied wrongdoing, but his departure is nonetheless a setback for Trump who picked him to overhaul what Trump, a convicted felon, viewed as a “weaponised” justice system.

In announcing Bondi, a prosecutor of almost 20 years, as his new pick, Trump posted: “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponised against me and other Republicans - Not anymore.”

“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!”

Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney General.Credit: AP

Bondi, 59, was the first female attorney-general of Florida, where Trump now lives, and worked for him during his first term as part of his Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission. She also campaigned for the Republican against Kamala Harris in the election, and is close to Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump.

At a rally on November 2, as Trump sought to shore up support among women, she told the crowd: “I was a prosecutor for 18 years. I worked for President Trump. He’s my friend, and I can tell you, he surrounds himself with a lot [of] all strong, bright, brilliant women.”

On Wednesday, tensions erupted on Capitol Hill over whether to release a House Ethics Committee report detailing Gaetz’s alleged drug use and sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl and other women.

Hours before his abrupt withdrawal, The New York Times also obtained a document in which investigators outlined how Gaetz and a friend sent thousands of dollars through the payment app Venmo to dozens of people who were allegedly involved in sex parties from 2017 to 2020.

Although Gaetz’s run in a Trump White House has effectively ended, he is not the only scandal-plagued cabinet pick Trump has made.

As the president-elect steps up his push to make Peter Hegseth the new secretary for defence, the Fox News host has been accused in a newly released police report of raping a woman after he took her phone, blocked the door of his hotel room and refused to let her leave.

Hegseth, a 44-year-old army veteran and co-host of Fox and Friends, was never charged over the incident, which took place when he was a keynote speaker at a California Federation of Republican Women conference in October 2017.

The 22-page report offers the first detailed account of what the woman alleged transpired – and one that is at odds with Hegseth’s version of the incident, which he insists was consensual.

According to the report, the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, told police she was staying at the Hyatt Hotel in Monterey, California, where she met Hegseth at an after-party.

Pete Hegseth interviewing Trump in his capacity as a Fox News reporter in 2017.Credit: AP

Both had been drinking that night and ended up in Hegseth’s hotel room, where she reported that he took her phone from her after asking who she had been texting. She claimed he blocked the door with his body when she tried to leave the room and that she repeatedly told him “no”. He then sexually assaulted her.

Hegseth has admitted paying the woman in 2023 as part of a confidential settlement to head off any potential threats to his career at Fox, the Rupert Murdoch-owned cable network where he came to Trump’s attention.

Speaking briefly at Capitol Hill – where he is lobbying Republican senators to give him the job of running the multibillion-dollar Defence Department – Hegseth told reporters: “I’ll keep this very simple: the matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared. That’s where I’m going to leave it.”

And while news of allegations surprised Trump’s team when they first emerged last week, Republicans have nonetheless rallied around the nominee as he met senators on Thursday (Friday AEDT) to call for their support.

Among them was Republican Bill Hagerty, who posted a photo with Hegseth and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance after their meeting, saying he looked forward to confirming him.

“Pete knows that the defence secretary’s job is to empower the men and women of our military to carry out their patriotic duty, not consign them to serve as political pawns in a broken Washington,” said Hagerty.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service (1800RESPECT) on 1800 737 732.

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