Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to become attorney general after days of debate over whether to release a congressional report on sexual misconduct allegations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

On X, formerly Twitter, the 42-year-old said that the controversy over his potential nomination “was unfairly becoming a distraction” to the work of the incoming Trump administration.

The report included the findings of a probe sparked by allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

Gaetz has denied the claims but said that he hoped to avoid a “needlessly protracted Washington scuffle.”

The withdrawal of Gaetz – who Donald Trump selected to be the top US law enforcement officer – represents a setback for the president-elect.

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

“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,” Trump added.

In his post on X, formerly Twitter, Gaetz said that Trump’s justice department “must be in place and ready” on the first day of his administration in January.

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

“I will forever be honoured that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain 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 was likely to face an uphill battle when it came time to be confirmed by the US Senate.

Lawmakers – including some fellow Senate Republicans – had expressed concern about his nomination, reportedly prompting a significant closed-door effort by him and Trump to secure the necessary support.

The day before his withdrawal, the House Ethics Committee – which compiled the report – met behind closed doors to debate whether or not it should release the report into Gaetz.

The committee’s ranking Democrat, Susan Wild, said that the group had not been able to come to an agreement and was evenly divided, 5-5, on party lines.

Its chairman, Michael Guest, told reporters on Thursday that his withdrawal “should end the discussion of whether or not the ethics committee should move forward in his matter.”

“He is no longer a member of Congress, and so I think that this settles any involvement that the ethics committee should have in any matters involving Mr Gaetz,” he said.

Gaetz resigned from his House seat last week after Trump nominated him to become attorney general.

It is unclear whom Trump will nominate in his place.

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

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

A separate three-year federal sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz ended with no charges brought against him.

Will Matt Gaetz return to Congress?

It is unclear what will come next for Gaetz, who provided no detail on his future plans in his announcement.

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

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

Senior Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have used his resignation as justification to avoid publishing the committee’s findings.

But he could return to the Capitol in the upper chamber. Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, could appoint him to a vacant seat that is likely to be left by Senator Marco Rubio, whom Trump has nominated as his secretary of state.

Gaetz could also lobby for another position in the administration that does not require a Senate confirmation.

Who could replace him as Attorney General nominee?

Moving forward, Trump is likely to pick another attorney general nominee to carry out his agenda at the justice department – which he has described as ending “weaponised government”, protecting US borders, dismantling criminal organisations and restoring Americans’ “badly-shattered faith and confidence” in the department.

On Monday, some of Trump’s congressional allies said they were ready to begin assessing other contenders.

“This provides the president an opportunity to look at other very qualified individuals who can help to revamp the justice department,” South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds was quoted as saying by Politico.

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

Rounds added that he believes that there was “some information out there that the president was not aware of when he made the original recommendation”.

Among the names so far put forward as possibilities are:

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

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 New York criminal trial 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 that they would prefer to stay in the Senate.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the global Anglican Church, Justin Welby, resigned on Tuesday, following a review that revealed senior church leaders covered up the widespread abuse of over 100 boys and young men.

The abuse was perpetrated by a British lawyer, John Smyth, who led Christian summer camps in the United Kingdom and other countries during the 1970s and 1980s.

The independent review, which was released last week, found that despite repeated efforts by individuals to bring Smyth’s actions to light, the response from the Church of England was inadequate, amounting to a cover-up.

Smyth, who died in South Africa in 2018 without facing any legal proceedings, abused boys and young men under his care for decades.

The review revealed that the church’s failure to act enabled Smyth to continue his abuse in the UK and abroad.

In a statement announcing his resignation, Welby expressed deep regret over the church’s failures.

“The last few days have renewed my long-felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England,” Welby said in the statement.

Welby admitted that he first learnt about the abuse allegations in 2013, the same year he became Archbishop, but acknowledged that his efforts to investigate and address the situation were insufficient.

He said, “For nearly twelve years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.”

The Archbishop’s resignation came amid growing criticism from victims and other church leaders.

The Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, remarked, “I think, rightly, people are asking the question: ‘Can we really trust the Church of England to keep us safe?’ And I think the answer at the moment is ‘no’.”

Survivor Andrew Morse, who was among those abused by Smyth as a teenager, called for Welby’s resignation.

He criticised the Archbishop’s handling of the situation, stating that had Welby acted decisively in 2013, further abuse could have been prevented.

He said Welby’s “admission that in 2013, which is really modern day in comparison to the 1970s and 1980s, that he didn’t do enough, that he wasn’t rigorous… is enough in my mind to confirm that Justin Welby, along with countless other Anglican churchmen, were part of a cover-up about the abuse,” Morse told the BBC.

The scandal has cast a long shadow over Welby’s tenure, which included officiating high-profile events such as the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and delivering the sermon at Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral.

His resignation marked a moment for the Church of England, as it grapples with the legacy of abuse scandals and attempts to restore trust among its followers.

Welby concluded his statement by acknowledging the profound impact of the review’s findings, noting the pain endured by the victims and the failure of the church to protect those in its care.

“I am so sorry that in places where these young men, and boys, should have felt safe and where they should have experienced God’s love for them, they were subjected to physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse,” he said.

Efforts to get the reactions of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and the Christian Association of Nigeria failed.

When contacted, the Communication Officer of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Korede Akin, informed our correspondent that he could not speak on the issue, stating that only the Primate of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, could provide the position of the church.

Similarly, the Director of National Issues and Social Welfare for the Christian Association of Nigeria, Abimbola Ayuba, told our correspondent that only the CAN President had the jurisdiction to speak on international matters, as he could only speak to issues of national concern or social welfare.

Meanwhile, efforts to reach the National Publicity Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Emmah Isong, failed as his phone line was switched off.

Donald Trump has begun the process of choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials following his presidential election victory.

Here are the early picks and top contenders for some of the key posts overseeing defence, intelligence, diplomacy, trade, immigration and economic policymaking. Some are in contention for a range of posts.

Chief of staff

Trump on Thursday announced that Susie Wiles, one of his two campaign managers, will be his White House chief of staff. While the specifics of her political views are somewhat unclear, Wiles, 67, is credited with running a successful and efficient campaign. Supporters hope she will instill a sense of order and discipline that was often lacking during Trump’s first four-year term, when he cycled through a number of chiefs of staff.

Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Trump announced on Sunday night that Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from his first administration, will be in charge of the country’s borders. Trump made cracking down on people in the country illegally a central element of his campaign, promising mass deportations.

UN ambassador

Trump announced on Monday that Elise Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman and staunch Trump supporter, would be his ambassador to the United Nations.

Stefanik, 40, a US representative from New York state and House Republican conference chair, took a leadership position in the House of Representatives in 2021 when she was elected to replace then-Representative Liz Cheney, who was ousted for criticising Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

Treasure secretary

Scott Bessent, John Paulson; Larry Kudlow, Robert Lighthizer and Howard Lutnick considered for the role of potential treasury secretary. Bessent, a key economic adviser to Trump, is widely seen as a top candidate for treasury secretary. A longtime hedge fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years.

Commerce secretary

Linda McMahon is seen as the frontrunner to lead Trump’s Department of Commerce, three sources briefed on the plans said. Mcmahon is a Professional wrestling magnate and former Small Business Administration director

Secretary of state

Richard Grenell, Robert O’brien, Bill Hagerty and Marco Rubio, among the top choices for potential secretary of state. Grenell is among Trump’s closest foreign policy advisers.

O’Brien, Trump’s fourth and final national security adviser during his first term, maintains a close relationship with Trump, and the two often speak on national security matters.

Hagerty, a US senator from Tennessee who worked on Trump’s 2016 transition effort, Hagerty is considered a top contender for secretary of state. Rubio, a US senator from Florida and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, is also a top secretary of state contender whose policies hew closely to those of Trump.

Defence secretary

Mike Waltz, potential defence secretary. A former Army Green Beret who is currently a US congressman from Florida, Waltz has established himself as one of the foremost China hawks in the House. Among the various China-related bills he has co-sponsored are measures designed to lessen US reliance on critical minerals mined in China.