Fetterman on Gaetz: 'Holy s‑‑‑, I didn't see that coming'
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) gave a sarcastic response to the withdrawal of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) from consideration as President-elect Trump’s pick for attorney general.
“Holy s‑‑‑, I didn’t see that coming,” Fetterman said mockingly when asked about the withdrawal by a reporter in a clip captured by Scripps News and posted to social platform X.
Gaetz said in a post Thursday on X that he had “excellent meetings” with Senators the day prior, but “it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
Gaetz’s withdrawal comes about a week after Trump announced him as his pick to lead the Justice Department. In a post on Truth Social, he called the former House member from Florida a “deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice.”
Gaetz has critics within his own party, most notably ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and recently has been the subject of a probe by the House Ethics Committee looking into whether he took part in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, alongside other allegations. He has denied allegations of wrongdoing, but Gaetz’s recent resignation from Congress essentially killed the probe by taking himself out of the panel’s jurisdiction.
The Hill has reached out to a contact for Gaetz and the Trump transition team for comment.