This story is “breaking,” but I have to comment. Gaetz can’t be called an Ethics Hero here: if he were one, he would have declined the nomination immediately, as this controversy was, or should have been, a forgone conclusion. He said all the right things today,
“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. I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
…but he could have said them a week ago.
Whatever: As a lawyer, I would have joined any petitions or organized professional protests against Gaetz being confirmed for the job of the nation’s top attorney. I don’t blame Trump for wishing the plague on the Justice Department and hating my profession, but Gaetz was too far over the line. Several of his other appointments are uncomfortably close to the line if not over it as well, but Gaetz’s selection was so indefensible that it risked undermining Trump’s credibility before his administration got underway.
Is one of Gaetz’s motivations for “doing the right thing” the fear that if he didn’t withdraw, matters would come to the public’s attention that would sink the rest of his political career? Oh, probably. I don’t care. What matters is that an unqualified nominee took himself out of the running before too much damage was done..
Ethics Alarms 
Why wasn’t Ted Cruz’s name floated? (I realize he just won re-election; had he lost, maybe he would have been.) Is that it? Otherwise, he would be qualified.
-Jut
I thought John Ratcliffe would be a good choice, but he was offered something else.
Sorry to disagree but a Democrat in the same situation would never have backed down. I understand the ethics of it but if one side plays by the rules and the other doesn’t sometimes you have to play by their rules.
As I tell my students in a fight there are no rules other than to survive. If you think your opponent is going to honor “rules” you have already lost.
I wrack my brains, but I cannot think of any Democrat who would be in that situation or who has ever been in that situation, because people as unqualified as Gaetz who also unpopular with colleagues and have skeletons in their closet never get nominated for major positions in either party.
Eric Swallwell or Adam Schiff
Exactly. Which is why no Democrat in his or her right mind would nominate them. (Or Liz Cheney)
First, Democrats don’t usually get investigated.
But to answer your question: Kamala… Oh wait she wasn’t nominated she was installed. Or admiral “Rachel” Levine… Or Sam Brinton… the list is almost infinite when looking for comparisons.
Brinton didn’t require Senate approval. Levine is at least minimally qualified for “their” job.
Perhaps it wasn’t a concern about how what else might be revealed about Gaetz’s libertine ways. It could have been that someone counted the votes, and a quietly done survey of GOP senators determined that he wouldn’t be confirmed if his nomination was brought to the floor.
As for his future, the now-former Representative Gaetz is thought to be considering a run to replace the term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2026; if he does, he would be among the favorites both to get the Republican nomination and to prove that the activities of the Florida politicians in Carl Hiaasen’s novels aren’t really exaggerations.
The other theory is that Trump will find something else for him to do that doesn’t require confirmation.
I thought he could still take the seat he won in the next Congress?
Well, he can, unless he’s really worried about that ethics committee report.
Roger.
If there’s anything substantive in the Ethics Committee report, wouldn’t it have been referred to the FBI and their investigation would have been re-opened?
I think it just has to be sufficiently ugly but beyond the reasonable doubt standard. Remember, an amazing number of people—I know some—still believe what Blasey-Ford accused Kavanaugh of doing in high school, with no substantiation at all.
looks like he picked Pam Bondi to replace him.
-Jut