Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Thursday announced that he would withdraw himself from consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general. “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback — and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote in a post on X, just a week after Trump announced he planned to nominate Gaetz to the position. “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,” Gaetz added. I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance…— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 21, 2024 Gaetz, who Trump named last week as his pick for AG, faced significant headwinds in the confirmation process. Trump’s selection of Gaetz brought fresh scrutiny to previous allegations against the former congressman, who faced an investigation by the Justice Department that involved allegations of sex trafficking and sex with a minor. Gaetz has vehemently denied those allegations and the investigation ended with the Justice Department electing not to charge Gaetz. “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!” This is a breaking news story. Updates to come. This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News: Democrats try to force a vote to release Matt Gaetz report as House Ethics panel has ‘no agreement’ Matt Gaetz’s accusers don’t want to testify in public, their lawyer says Senators want details of Matt Gaetz ethics probe before his confirmation vote for attorney general