Eric Schmitt withdraws from Trump attorney general consideration to remain in Senate

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., has requested that President-elect Trump’s transition team withdraw his name from consideration for attorney general, he announced Monday.

Schmitt won election to the U.S. Senate in 2022, and he says he wishes to remain there to represent the interests of Missouri voters. His announcement comes as Trump’s transition team is tasked with preparing to fill thousands of roles in the federal government.

“I ran for the U.S. Senate to represent the people of the Show Me State and I’m just getting started. The American people have given President Trump a mandate. A mandate to secure our border, make America energy dominant and fight for the forgotten men and women of this country,” Schmitt wrote on X. 

“We need America First fighters who don’t just say they support the agenda but who are willing to stand in the breach and actually fight for it and for the hopes and dreams of the American people. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and be a champion for President Trump in the Senate,” he added.

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Schmitt had previously served as the attorney general of Missouri.

Trump has made few staffing announcements since securing his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last week. He announced that Susie Wiles will serve as the White House chief of staff. Tom Homan will also serve as Trump’s border czar.

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Trump has also selected Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and he has announced Stephen Miller as the White House deputy chief of staff for policy.

Tom Homan, will serve as Trump’s border czar after inauguration. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Stefanik, the fourth-highest ranking House Republican, is a frequent figure on television where she advocates for the GOP side on a number of issues, including Israel and what she refers to as the “Biden Crime Family.” 

Stefanik, who was elected to her sixth term in the House last week, made national headlines for grilling the presidents of Ivy League universities about the rising antisemitism on college campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel.

Rep. Eloise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speaks during a campaign rally for then-candidate and former president Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27, 2024.  (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

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“The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak U.S. leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries,” Stefanik added in her statement to the Post. “I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations. “