Matt Gaetz pulls out his nomination of Attorney General in the middle of an ongoing The House Ethics Committee’s investigation in allegations of sex trafficking, sexual abuse of minors and illegal drug use, which he has denied.

On Thursday, Nov. 21, the former Florida representative, 42, announced the social media that he withdraws his nomination after “unfairly becoming a distraction” to the transition of power to the president-elect Donald Trump and vice president-elect JD Vance.

“I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback — and the incredible support from so many,” he wrote in a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter). “While momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction from the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition.”

Gaetz went on to write that he is withdrawing from the nomination because he will not be ready in time to take on the responsibility given his ongoing scandal. “There is no time to waste on an unnecessarily protracted Washington squabble, so I will withdraw my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1,” he added.

The politician further aligned himself with Trump, writing: “I remain fully committed to seeing that Donald J. Trump is the most successful president in history.” He added, “I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I am confident that he will save America.”

Trump, 78, left a response to Truth Socialin which he claimed that Gaetz was “doing very well” in his run for attorney general. “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to seeing all the great things he will do!” he added.

Gaetz was nominated for attorney general by Trump on November 13.

The following day, Speaker and Republican Representative from Louisiana Mike Johnson announced that Gaetz had resigned from Congress. “I think out of respect for us, he issued his letter of resignation effective immediately,” Johnson said at a news conference. “It surprised us a little bit. But I asked him what the reasoning was, and he said, ‘Well, you can’t have too many absences.'”

Gaetz has previously been investigated by the Department of Justice in a sex-trafficking surveybut investigator refused to press charges. He remains under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for similar allegations.

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That was told by lawyer Joel Leppard Washington Post on Nov. 19 that two of his female clients had testified before the House Ethics Committee about Gaetz allegedly buying “sexual services” and have sex with a minor.

The lawyer further said that the women testified that they received payment from a PayPal account owned by the politician’s “son” Nestor Galban.

Galban, who is in his 20s, has been described by Gaetz as an “adopted son”, although they are not formally linked. In one 2020 interview with PEOPLEthe former congressman described their relationship as one “defined by our love for each other, not by any paperwork.”

According to information obtained by the House Ethics Committee and reported by ABC NewsGaetz allegedly paid over $10,000 to two women, who later became witnesses in the Justice Department and House investigations into sexual misconduct. According to the documents, the payments are traced back to Venmo accounts, with records showing Gaetz made 27 payments to the two women between July 2017 and January 2019.

Gaetz has consistently denied wrongdoing, seemingly referring to them as “year-old allegations of a sexual/sane nature from sources the DOJ previously deemed not credible made up by people with a political motive” social media before resigning from the coveted position in the Trump administration.

On November 20, Republican members of the House Ethics Committee voted to block the release of the report detailing their investigation into the politician, Associated Press and USA today reported.