Many took to social media to mock Matt Gaetz for lasting "less than a Scaramucci" after he announced on Thursday he'd be withdrawing his name for consideration as President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general.
"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," former Florida Republican representative Gaetz posted on X, formerly Twitter. "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 responded to the Gaetz announcement in a Truth Social post by saying the former congressman was "doing very well," and "has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!"
Gaetz's nomination was facing significant opposition related to allegations of sex-trafficking and that he had a sexual encounter with a 17 year old—all of which the Florida Republican vehemently denies.
Newsweek reached out to Gaetz and Trump for comment via email on Thursday.
Many of Gaetz's critics were quick to mock him, comparing his brief nomination to the short tenure of former Trump administration official Anthony Scaramucci, who set a record in early 2017 as the shortest-serving communications director in White House history. Since then, some have routinely compared short time periods connected to politics to Scaramucci's brief tenure.
He served 11 days, from July 21 to July 31, 2017. Gaetz was nominated 8 days ago, on November 13
"Well that didn't even last a full Scaramucci," the official Florida Democrats account quipped on X, reposting Gaetz's Thursday announcement.
"Gaetz nomination lasted less than a Scaramucci," Aaron Rupar, an independent journalist and prominent Trump critics, wrote on X.
Some even attempted to calculate the precise amount of a Scaramucci.
"So, by my calculation, Gaetz lasted 0.727 Scaramucci units aka 'mooches.' Although arguably -0.727 since he didn't actually make it into the job," Josh Gerstein, senior legal affair reporter at Politico posted.
Scaramucci, who has become a Trump critic since his brief time serving in the White House, got in on the joke as well, although he also shared some positive sentiments about the incoming administration
"Trump and Elon are doing some good things with @DOGE and making some interesting appointments," he wrote. "However, Gaetz for AG was an unforced error and it's good for his administrator and the country that he's moving on from that episode in less than a Scaramucci."
Gaetz has been accused of being involved in recruiting women online for sex, including a 17-year-old girl. The Department of Justice (DOJ) last year told Gaetz that he would not face federal sex-trafficking charges. However the House Ethics Committee was looking into the allegations until the Florida Republican resigned from Congress last week with the announcement that he'd be Trump's attorney general nominee.
Two other women had accused Gaetz of paying them for sex. Their attorney, Joel Leppard, told Newsweek Wednesday that his clients were paid a total of $10,000 over Venmo and PayPal. Leppard said his clients had not wanted to publicly testify against Gaetz.
Gaetz has vehemently denied that he did anything improper and blames the accusations on a smear campaign. He posted to X that the allegations began under former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Along with investigating Gaetz for sexual misconduct, the House committee was looking into allegations of illicit drug use, sharing inappropriate images on the House floor, misusing state identification records, converting campaign funds to personal use and accepting a bribe or impermissible gift.
The House Ethics Committee met on Wednesday and voted against releasing the report on Gaetz. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, had publicly opposed the report's release before that vote.
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