Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from running for attorney general after days of debate over whether he would release a congressional report on allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

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The report contained the findings of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use.

Gaetz has denied the claims but said he hoped to avoid an “unnecessarily protracted scuffle in Washington.”

The withdrawal of Gaetz – who was selected by Donald Trump as the top US law enforcement official – marks a setback for the newly elected president.

On his own social media platform Truth Social, the former and future president said he appreciated Gaetz’s efforts to become attorney general.

“He did a very good job, but at the same time he didn’t want to be a distraction to the government, for which he has great respect,” Trump added.

In his post on X, formerly Twitter, Gaetz said Trump’s Justice Department should be “in place and ready” on the first day of his administration in January.

“I remain fully committed to making Donald J. Trump the most successful president in history,” he wrote.

“I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I am confident he will save America,” Gaetz added.

The shadow cast by the long-running investigation by a congressional ethics panel into a number of claims involving drugs, bribes and sex meant that Gaetz likely faced an uphill battle when it came time for the U.S. Senate are confirmed.

Lawmakers — including some fellow Republicans in the Senate — had expressed concerns about his nomination, reportedly prompting a significant effort by him and Trump to drum up necessary support behind closed doors.

The day before his withdrawal, the House Ethics Committee – which authored the report – met behind closed doors to discuss whether or not to release the report to Gaetz.

The committee’s Democrat, Susan Wild, said the group had failed to reach an agreement and was evenly divided, 5-5, along party lines.

Its chairman, Michael Guest, told reporters on Thursday that his withdrawal “should end the debate over whether or not the ethics committee should move forward on this case.”

“He is no longer a member of Congress, and so I think this settles any possible involvement of the Ethics Committee in matters involving Mr. Gaetz,” he said.

Gaetz resigned from his seat in the House of Representatives last week after Trump nominated him as attorney general.

It is unclear who Trump will nominate in his place.

The charges stem in part from a woman’s claims that she attended a party with him in 2017 and witnessed the then-congresswoman having sex with a minor.

The woman’s attorney later said that the woman, as well as another witness, had been paid by Gaetz to have sex with him.

A separate three-year federal sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz ended without charges being filed against him.

It’s unclear what will happen next for Gaetz, who gave no details about his future plans in his announcement.

President-elect Trump said only that he has a “bright future” and will do “great things.”

Experts have suggested that it is unlikely that Gaetz would seek to return to the House of Representatives – where he was re-elected to his seat in the November election – because it would mean the Ethics Commission report could be made public.

Senior Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have used his resignation as justification to prevent the commission’s findings from being published.

But he was able to return to the Capitol in the upper chamber. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could appoint him to a vacant seat that will likely be left to Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump has nominated as his secretary of state.

Gaetz could also lobby for another position in government that does not require Senate confirmation.

Going forward, Trump will likely choose a different nominee for attorney general to carry out his agenda at the Justice Department — which he has described as ending an “armed government,” protecting America’s borders, dismantling of criminal organizations and restoring the “severely shattered faith and trust” in the department.

On Monday, some Trump allies in Congress said they were ready to start assessing other contenders.

“This provides an opportunity for the president to look at other highly qualified individuals who can help renew the Department of Justice,” Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota told Politico.

“Probably some of them would be very acceptable to members of the Senate who really want to see the president’s agenda move forward,” he added.

Rounds added that he believes there was “information available that the President was not aware of when he made the original recommendation.”

Among the names floated as possibilities so far are:

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
• Former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Jay Clayton
• Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey
• Senator Mike Lee of Utah
• Mark Paoletta, former general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told the BBC that “an obvious candidate” would be Todd Blanche, who represented Trump in his criminal trial in New York and has already been nominated to serve as deputy attorney general.

Other possibilities include Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares or senior Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton or Josh Hawley.

The latter two have suggested they would prefer to remain in the Senate.