Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Thursday said he was withdrawing from consideration as President-elect Trump's nomination to be attorney general. Gaetz announced the decision in a message on X, saying that while he had had "excellent meetings" with senators on Wednesday, "it is 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 a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General," Gaetz wrote. "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." Gaetz, who President-elect Trump just a week ago said he was nominating to lead the Department of Justice, was immediately the president-elect's most controversial pick for his Cabinet. His quick withdrawal suggests he had realized he was unlikely to win the votes necessary to be confirmed. Gaetz could only have afforded four GOP defections assuming all Democrats in the Senate opposed his nomination, and several GOP senators had signaled their discomfort with the pick. Trump in a statement said he apprecited Gaetz's efforts. "He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!" Trump said in a message on Truth Social. Gaetz’s move comes a day after the House Ethics Committee declined to release the findings of a years-long ethics report into him, but did not completely close the door on making such a move. A source familiar with the panel’s deliberations said that while the panel voted on partisan lines against releasing the report as-is, it did vote to formally “complete” the report, and the prospect of its release could come up again. The committee is scheduled to meet next on Dec. 5. The source said members left with the understanding that the report would be “ready” by that gathering, suggesting another vote to release the body of work could take place then. The whole House was also poised to vote after the Thanksgiving holiday on whether to force the Ethics Committee to release its findings after two Democrats made moves to trigger such a vote.  The panel has been investigating Gaetz on-and-off for the past three-and-a-half years, probing allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. He was also accused of accepting improper gifts, dispensing special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship and seeking to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz has vigorously denied those allegations of wrongdoing. The Justice Department declined to charge him after investigating similar matters. Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell contributed. This story was updated at 12:47 p.m.