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AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome
to the "News Hour."

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Former Florida Congressman
Matt Gaetz has withdrawn from
the running as Donald Trump's

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pick for attorney
general. Sexual misconduct
allegations against Gaetz
fueled intense scrutiny,

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threatening his chances to
be confirmed. Today, in a
statement on social media,

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Gaetz wrote -- quote -- "While
the momentum was strong, it's
clear that my confirmation

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was unfairly becoming a
distraction to the critical work
of the Trump/Vance transition."

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Yesterday, the House Ethics
Committee deadlocked on
a decision to release

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a report of a lengthy
investigation into the
allegations against
Gaetz. He abruptly

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resigned from his role in
Congress last week following
Mr. Trump's nomination.

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Our Laura Barron-Lopez
joins us now for more.

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So, Laura, tell us, why do
we know -- what do we know
about why Gaetz stepped aside?

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Sources
that I talked to today
close to the transition,

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said that Matt Gaetz simply
did not have the votes.

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And the more and more
that came out, the details
that came out about these

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sexual assault allegations,
sexual abuse allegations,
it made his pathway harder,

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Amna. And the timing of the
announcement is notable, because
Matt Gaetz announced this a

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day after meeting with senators
on the Hill. He was joined by
vice president-elect J.D. Vance.

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And he can only lose -- he could
have only lost three votes in
the Senate. And Gaetz never

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requested a meeting with
some of the senators who
were most likely to oppose
him, like Senator Susan

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Collins of Maine. But,
ultimately, it appeared
as though he didn't
have the support at all.

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And in a post on TRUTH Social,
president-elect Trump thanked
Gaetz for trying to get the

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Senate approval and said
that Gaetz "was doing
very well, but at the same

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time did not want to be
a distraction for the
administration, for which
he has much respect."

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Now, that distraction
that the president-elect,
as well as Gaetz, have
talked about is sexual

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misconduct allegations that
also the House Ethics Committee
was investigating. And,

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as a reminder, Amna, two
women testified to the House
Ethics Committee investigators

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that Gaetz paid them for
sex on multiple occasions
beginning in 2017, while
he was a congressman.

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And one of the women testified
that she saw Gaetz having sex
with a 17-year-old at a party.

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AMNA NAWAZ: What kind of
reaction is all this getting
on Capitol Hill today?

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Republican
Senator Josh Hawley, who sits
on the Judiciary Committee,

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said that ultimately
Donald Trump needed someone
better suited to the role.

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And Democrats like Senator
Chris Coons, who is
also on the Judiciary,

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said that the nomination all
around was very troubling.

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SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO):
Listen, I think I go back
to the fact that this

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is the president's Cabinet.
He's got to choose people
who he has confidence

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in and who are going to
be able to deliver, he
believes, on his agenda.

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SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): For
someone to be nominated to
be the chief law enforcement

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officer of the United States
and facing persistent and
disturbing charges involving

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sex trafficking and drug
use really caused some
real challenges for him.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: A
number of Senate Republicans
also said that there was
a big sense of relief

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that Gaetz withdrew. And one
GOP lawmaker texted me, Amna
-- quote -- "Problem solved."

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AMNA NAWAZ: You mentioned that
House Ethics Committee report.
What happens to that now?

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Leaders on
the House Ethics Committee were
quiet today about the future of

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that report. They had
initially planned to meet
on December 5 to decide
whether to finish that report

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and to possibly release
it. We don't know exactly
if they're going to
still hold that meeting.

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AMNA NAWAZ: And what about
Matt Gaetz's future? Can he
get his seat back next year?

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ:
Lawmakers that I spoke
to today so that their
understanding is that there

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is nothing really barring
Matt Gaetz from coming
back in January and
taking the oath of office.

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Technically, Gaetz resigned
for the current Congress and
many lawmakers are pointing to

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his carefully worded resignation
letter, which said he does
-- quote -- "not intend

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to take the oath." So he could
very well potentially come back.

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AMNA NAWAZ: So Gaetz
is out of the running.

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Who else is president-elect
Trump likely to nominate
to be his attorney general?

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ:
Donald Trump's transition
team didn't comment on

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who the president-elect is
now considering, but sources
close to the transition told me

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that he is still -- he's back to
the drawing board, essentially.

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But before nominating Gaetz,
a number of Republican sources
told me that names being

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considered included Matt
Whitaker, who served as
acting attorney general
during Trump's first

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administration. He has since
been named to be the ambassador
to NATO. Mike Davis, a

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Republican lawyer and
former Senate aide, as
well as Andrew Bailey, the
Missouri attorney general.

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AMNA NAWAZ: I know you're
tracking the status
of some of the other

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nominations around which
people have questions.
What's the latest on that?

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ:
Donald Trump's nominee
to lead the Department
of Defense, Pete Hegseth,

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was on Capitol Hill today
with J.D. Vance again
trying to gain support.

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This comes right after
last night a 22-page
police report was released

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that detailed a woman
saying she was sexually
assaulted by Hegseth in 2017.

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And Pete Hegseth was asked
about these allegations
on the Hill today.

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QUESTION: Did you sexually
assault a woman in
Monterey, California?

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PETE HEGSETH, U.S. Defense
Secretary Nominee: I have -- as
far as the media is concerned,

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it's very simple. The matter
was fully investigated and I was

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completely cleared. And that's
where I'm going to leave it.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: As you saw,

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Hegseth said there that
the matter was investigated
and that he was cleared.

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But Hegseth paid that woman
in 2023, Amna, as part of
a confidential settlement.

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AMNA NAWAZ: Laura
Barron-Lopez with the latest
on the Trump transition.

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Laura, thank you.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.