Out: Matt Gaetz. In? These 6 Contenders To Be Trump’s Next Ag Nominee.

Back to the drawing board.

Matt Gaetz’s announcement Thursday that he was withdrawing his name from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump's pick as attorney general set off immediate jockeying to find his replacement.

Before the shocking Gaetz pick last week, Trump had mulled a long list of other potential nominees. Now, some of those names — plus some new ones — may be back under consideration.

Whomever Trump chooses to lead the Justice Department will have to defend controversial Trump policies including immigration crackdowns and anti-abortion initiatives, as well as help Trump wield the department against his political enemies. Trump’s pick will also be expected to help end the two federal criminal cases against the president-elect if special counsel Jack Smith doesn’t wind them down first.

Here are some of the names believed to be under consideration:

Todd Blanche

Blanche, one of Trump’s top criminal defense lawyers, is an obvious candidate to fill the hole left by Gaetz. Trump has already announced his intent to nominate Blanche for deputy attorney general, the department’s No. 2 spot, so it would be a natural move to elevate him to the top job.

Blanche is a longtime former federal prosecutor and an experienced criminal defense attorney whose qualifications and reputation would likely mean he’d receive swift confirmation for the job. But he isn’t an ideologue or an overtly political operator, so Trump may not see him as someone who would be willing to use the department to carry out Trump’s long-promised retribution tour.

Andrew Bailey

Missouri’s attorney general had been on Trump’s short list for the job before he chose Gaetz. Bailey is an Army veteran and an unwavering Trump crusader. As Missouri’s top prosecutor, he led a barrage of litigation against Biden administration policies, said the 2020 presidential election was “absolutely stolen” and even launched a long-shot bid to get the Supreme Court to help Trump in his hush money case. The Supreme Court rejected Bailey’s bid.

On Thursday, shortly after Gaetz withdrew his name, conservative lawyer Mike Davis, a prominent Trump ally, posted about Bailey, writing “he’s great.”

Robert Giuffra

Another pre-Gaetz attorney general contender, Giuffra is co-chair of the prominent white-shoe law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. While working as a litigator representing companies like Volkswagen AG and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Giuffra has held a handful of New York state government appointed positions, including on several ethics boards. During Trump’s original round of interviews for the attorney general job, Giuffra was said to have had the backing of Boris Epshteyn, an influential Trump legal adviser.

Jay Clayton

Trump could turn to Clayton, a longtime corporate lawyer whom the president-elect nominated last week to lead the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office. Clayton has been a favorite of Trump’s since Trump tried, unsuccessfully, to install him in that office during Trump’s first term. Clayton also served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term.

Clayton has never worked as a prosecutor, a fact that would make him an unorthodox choice for the nation’s top law enforcement post. But coming in the wake of Gaetz, Clayton would hardly be seen as a controversial selection.

Matt Whitaker

The president-elect picked Whitaker on Wednesday to serve as the U.S. ambassador to NATO. But Whitaker has led a Trump Justice Department before: For a three-month period during Trump’s first term, Whitaker was the acting attorney general. He is a fierce Trump loyalist who defended Trump during his first impeachment and campaigned with him during the 2024 presidential race. Before becoming acting attorney general, Whitaker had been chief of staff to Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, and prior to that, worked as U.S. attorney in Iowa.

Sen. Mike Lee

The Utah Republican turned from Trump skeptic to staunch Trump defender and was on Trump’s original short list for attorney general. Lee tried to keep Trump in power following the 2020 election, and Trump has considered elevating Lee before, interviewing him in 2018 about a Supreme Court seat. Lee is a former federal prosecutor who twice clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, once before Alito was on the high court. And as a sitting senator, Lee could likely easily win confirmation to the post.