CNN political commentator Shermichael Singleton reacted live to the announcement that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was withdrawing from his bid to serve as the next U.S. attorney general on Thursday.
The conservative analyst told CNN anchor Omar Jimenez that he was “not surprised” Gaetz made the decision to step away from the role while adding the former lawmaker had become a “significant distraction” to the incoming Trump administration.
Before his nomination, Gaetz faced a House Ethics Committee investigation relating to sexual misconduct allegations with a minor.
I am not surprised. I mean, I’ve been on air since some of these names have come out. And the biggest questions that I’ve been asked, whether it’s about Pete [Hegseth], whether it’s about Tulsi Gabbard, who I know personally, it’s really been about Matthew Gaetz. Shermichael, can Matthew Gaetz get confirmed? And as you started to see even some very conservative, sort of ardent Trump supporters in the Senate come out and say, well, wait a minute, I want to see that ethics report. I have a lot of friends on Capitol Hill, on the House side, in the Senate side, working for members, working for various committees. And the former congressman just doesn’t have a lot of friends, if I’m being honest, Omar on Capitol Hill. So it was always a bridge. I would argue that perhaps or a mountain that would have been too high or too steep for him to climb. So I think he made the right decision. But Omar, this goes back to that question you asked me moments ago and to the answer that I was giving.
You don’t want to expend this much political capital this early when you’ve won an election. There are so many exciting things that you want your president, your principal to be able to focus on. There’s so many exciting things you want the cabinet secretaries to be able to focus on. There are a lot of different regulations that they may want to reverse as instructed by the executive. This is a significant distraction. And so I think the former congressman made the right decision and now gives the transition team the opportunity to look at other names, to vet those other names well, give them to the president elect with the greatest amount of information possible so that he can select someone else.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
