Megyn Reacts After Donald Trump’s Attorney General Nominee Matt Gaetz Withdraws from Consideration

One day after making the rounds to meet with senators on Capitol Hill alongside Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Matt Gaetz announced that he is withdrawing from consideration to be the next U.S. attorney general.

The former congressman’s decision came one week after Donald Trump sent shockwaves through Washington, D.C., and beyond with the nomination. Gaetz was seen as a highly controversial pick who may have struggled to win over even GOP lawmakers because of his history in the House of Representatives and also salacious allegations related to sexual misconduct that were once the subject of a Department of Justice investigation. 

Gaetz has long denied the accusations and charges were never brought, but the House Ethics Committee was set to release the findings of its own investigation late last week. Gaetz immediately resigned from Congress upon getting the nomination, which effectively ended the investigation and the publication of the report. There remains debate, however, over whether it will ultimately be released.

On Thursday, Megyn was live with Andrew Klavan, host of The Andrew Klavan Show, when the news broke and the two reacted to Gaetz’s decision and what it means for the Trump cabinet.

Gaetz Withdraws

Gaetz announced he would be withdrawing in an X post around 12:30pm ET on Thursday, saying he did not want to be a “distraction” to the Trump-Vance transition team or the president-elect in his critical first 100 days.

“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday… 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,” he tweeted. “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.”

The former congressman added that he remains “fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history” and will “forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice.” He concluded that he is “certain” Trump “will Save America.”

Trump, for his part, took to Truth Social to praise Gaetz. “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,” he wrote. “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.”

While some are speculating that there may be a Trump administration position in Gaetz’s future that does not require Senate approval, the president-elect did not confirm or deny that in his post. “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do,” he concluded.

The Reaction

There was no question that Gaetz would have faced an uphill battle at his confirmation hearings, but Megyn said she had come around to the idea of him as AG. “I got to say, I have no personal affection for Matt Gaetz. I don’t know him, but I’m kind of sad to see it,” she said. “I like the fact of sending in this [guy] guns blazing. I get why he is problematic, but I am disappointed.”

Given the scope of the allegations against Gaetz, Klavan said he was “not surprised” by the decision. “The fact that he resigned [from Congress] as quickly as he did… might have been a giveaway that he was trying to get out of having that information released,” he explained. “I don’t think that means that all the charges against him are true… But you live at that level, you are going to do some things you probably shouldn’t have done.”

For that reason, Klavan believes it is best for Trump that Gaetz stepped aside. “I guess he is probably making the right decision for Trump… [who] was repeatedly quoted as saying, ‘I don’t know if he is going to make it,'” he added. “So, maybe he is just getting out of the way to let Trump do more.”

With that said, he felt similarly to Megyn. “I am a little bit disappointed because I would have liked to see him just go in there and rip them to pieces,” Klavan concluded. “He is so great when he is challenging the left. He is so terrific when he actually goes after them.”

You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Klavan by tuning in to episode 950 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.