Trump picks loyalist Pam Bondi for attorney general as Matt Gaetz withdraws | US Election 2024 News [Video]

US conservative firebrand Matt Gaetz has announced that he is withdrawing from consideration for United States attorney general following renewed focus on sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Trump on Thursday swiftly named Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, as his pick for top prosecutor following Gaetz’s withdrawal.

Bondi, who leads the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute think tank, is known as a staunch Trump ally and served on the president-elect’s legal team during his first impeachment.

In a statement on social media, Gaetz, whom Trump had picked just over a week ago, said that he had become a “distraction”.

Gaetz, a divisive figure even within Trump’s Republican Party, faced the prospect of opposition to his nomination in the US Senate, where proposed cabinet members must pass a confirmation vote.

“There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve …