In the hours since U.S. Sen. Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination for U.S. attorney general in the upcoming Donald Trump administration, reporting has come out that suggests concerns from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and other senators may have played a role in his decision.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that Gaetz told people close to him at least four Republican senators opposed his nomination: Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and John Curtis of Utah, who was elected on Nov. 5 and will take office in January 2025.
Gaetz, who allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old girl but has denied wrongdoing, met Wednesday with several Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose membership does not include any of the four senators mentioned by the New York Times.
The Associated Press reported that Collins said Gaetz’s decision to withdraw could have been related to those meetings. “I don’t know that for a fact,” she said, “but I think that he has put country first.”
