Former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz announced Thursday that he is withdrawing his name from consideration to become president-elect Donald Trumpthe Attorney General.

“I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday,” Gaetz wrote in a post on X. “I appreciate their thoughtful feedback — and the incredible support from so many. While the momentum was strong, it’s clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition.There is no time to waste on an unnecessarily protracted Washington argument, so I will withdraw my name from consideration Attorney General, Trump’s DOJ needs to be in place and ready on Day 1.”

“I remain fully committed to seeing that Donald J. Trump is the most successful president in history,” Gaetz 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.”

Gaetz informed Trump late Thursday morning that he was withdrawing, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Trump, who had personally called lawmakers to support Gaetz, issued a statement saying he appreciated Gaetz’s “recent efforts” to seek Senate approval and argued that a withdrawal was Gaetz’s choice.

“He did very well but at the same time did not want to be a distraction to the administration, for which he has a lot of respect,” Trump wrote. “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to seeing all the great things he will do!”

Vice President-elect JD Vance, who escorted Gaetz to meet with Vance’s fellow GOP senators on Wednesday, wrote on X: “I am extremely grateful for the work Matt put into the nomination process. He made his decision to withdraw entirely out of respect for President Trump administration Matt is a patriot and I look forward to seeing what he does next.

Gaetz responded to X“Thank you, Mr. VP-Elect! I look forward to continuing the fight to save our country. Just maybe from a different post”

Trump announced Wednesday that he tapped Gaetz to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official. Gaetz, a conservative firebrand in Congress, resigned shortly thereafter.

The election shocked many Republicans on Capitol Hill and raised eyebrows within the Ministry of Justice.

Late. Kevin Cramer, RN.D., expressed “relief” after Gaetz’s announcement.

“I know enough people who were ‘hell no’ at the conference to know that the path would have been very, very difficult, if it was possible, and I doubt it was,” Cramer said.

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said he thinks it was the “right decision” even though Gaetz sounded so “optimistic” during their meeting on Capitol Hill.

Republican senators considered opposed to Gaetz because of confirmation hurdles openly praised the decision for him to step aside.

“I think it was an excellent move on behalf of the president-elect,” said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“I think it was a sound decision. I think it was important,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who had been among those who publicly expressed serious concerns.

Asked if she was relieved, Murkowski said, “I am. I think it was the right decision.”

Late. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who had also expressed concern, said a withdrawal was the “right decision to make.”

“There was maybe some information out there that the president wasn’t aware of when he made the original recommendation. Part of this process is that information comes out, and then at that point, when people reevaluate or evaluate, you know, the President or the individual candidate may decide that it is not the right time to pursue the nomination,” Rounds said. “It may well have been because of the advice of the Senate rather than the consent of the Senate.”

Not all senators were equally open with their views.

“It’s obviously a decision he made, and I think everybody had to make a decision that’s good for them and their family. And for whatever reason, he decided not to pursue it,” said Sen. John Thune, the incoming Republican leader.

When pressed on whether he felt it was the right choice: “We respect his decision,” Thune said.

Gaetz has been under scrutiny amid allegations of sexual misconduct, including allegations that he had sex with a minor, which he has long denied.

The House Ethics Committee was in the final stages of its investigation into Gaetz when he was nominated to be attorney general, ABC News reported. Fiery debate has taken place on Capitol Hill since then over whether the panel should release its report.

Many senators said they believed the information contained in the report would become public during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Late. John Cornyn, who met with Gaetz on Wednesday, said his hearing had the potential to be “Kavanaugh on steroids.”

Sources told ABC News in recent days that it became clear to the Trump team that Gaetz will not have enough votes for Senate confirmation with sources close to the president-elect telling ABC News “no way to 50” senators.

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman, said Thursday that Trump “remains committed to selecting a Justice Department leader who will strongly defend the Constitution and stop the weaponization of our justice system.”

“President Trump will announce his new decision when it is made,” Leavitt said.

Trump has announced who he intends to install his top defense attorneys into high-level roles at the Justice Department. Todd Blanche has been chosen to be Deputy Attorney General and Emil Bove as Deputy Assistant Attorney General.

ABC News’ Will Steakin, Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Mariam Khan contributed to this report.