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Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones praised former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) despite a second allegation that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl.

On his embattled Infowars show Thursday, Jones reacted to the news Gaetz had withdrawn his name as President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, which came as CNN was set to report that a woman told a House committee she was sexually assaulted by the former lawmaker at least twice while she was 17 years old.

With Matt Gaetz withdrawing from consideration to be Donald Trump's attorney general, and Fox News personality Pete Hegseth's Pentagon nomination on the ropes amid explosive allegations of sexual assault, some pro-Trump Republican senators are lashing out and claiming it's all a hit job.

MSNBC's Ali Vitali brought the fact-check hammer down one attempt Thursday.

Matt Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration as Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, but he potentially could return to Congress despite his resignation last week.

The Florida Republican stepped away from his congressional seat after Trump announced his nomination but before the House Ethics Committee was poised to issue a report on its sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz. He said in his letter of resignation that he did "not intend" to return to the House despite winning re-election earlier this month.

CNN viewers learned how to say "useful idiot" in Russian Thursday as a Republican tried to defend a controversial Cabinet pick by the president-elect — and a Democratic strategist slapped back.

Trump's decision to pick former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to lead the nation's intelligence agencies had conservative adviser Brad Todd scrambling to characterize concerns raised by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as overblown.

CNN host Pamela Brown jumped in to correct a Republican congressman multiple times Thursday as he tried to paint Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Fox News personality Pete Hegseth as victims of a witch hunt designed to derail their respective appointments to Donald Trump's cabinet.

Ohio Republican Rep. Warren Davidson was pressed on whether a reportedly "damaging" House Ethics Committee report involving sexual abuse allegations made against Gaetz should be made public, with Brown asking, "Don't Americans deserve to know what Congress learned about the person who could be the next attorney general? "

Billionaire Elon Musk is reportedly threatening to finance primary challenges to Republican senators who oppose former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general.

ABC's Selina Wang reported Thursday that an unnamed Trump advisor confirmed the news to correspondent Jonathan Karl.

During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Symone Sanders Townsend joined in to talk about the chaos surrounding Rep. Matt Gaetz's nomination to be Donald Trump's next attorney general and the cloud being cast over it by a reportedly "damaging" House Ethics Committee report.

With the Florida Republican meeting with GOP senators this week and attempting to downplay accusations he engaged in drug and sex parties with underaged women reportedly alleged in the report, Sanders Townsend wondered aloud why the wife of Gaetz has not come forward to defend her husband.

She also singled out Fox News personality Pete Hegseth who is having to deal with a police report that details an alleged sexual assault in 2017 as he works toward becoming Trump's next Defense Department secretary.

Sharing a clip from MSNBC colleague Ari Melber's show, the co-hosts of "Morning Joe" counted off eight sitting Republican senators who have been targeted by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) with insults who could hold his fate in their hands.

Co-host Willie Geist kicked off the segment, telling the panel, "Matt Gaetz is not popular among his colleagues on Capitol Hill. He made a habit of insulting lawmakers, his colleagues, including those who will vote on his nomination."

"Here is that montage we were talking about from our friends at 'The Beat with Ari Melber.' It shows Gaetz trashing his Capitol Hill colleagues while in office," he added before the Morning Joe producers rolled the clip of the embattled lawmaker smirking on his podcast.

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Gaetz is then seen attacking Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), John Thune (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Barrasso (R-WY) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) that included calling them "fools" and accusing them of "corruption."

Following the clip, host Scarborough held up his hands and proclaimed "I counted eight," as other panelists laughed and Geist quipped, "We are counting on our hands and we had to go to a second hand."

"And those are recent insults!" Scarborough interjected.

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House speaker Mike Johnson made things worse for Matt Gaetz for weighing in on the release of a "pretty nasty" House Ethics Committee report on his alleged sexual misconduct, according to that panel's former chairman.

Donald Trump nominated the Florida Republican for attorney general the day before the report on sex trafficking allegations was set to be released, and Johnson has said the findings should not be released now that Gaetz has resigned his congressional seat, but former ethics chair Charlie Dent told CNN the speaker should have stayed out of the fracas.

Donald Trump's transition team was reportedly caught off guard by sexual assault allegations against defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, but an analyst said that was a red flag for the incoming administration.

The former Fox News host paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault to prevent her from filing a lawsuit that could damage his career, his lawyer confirmed, and CNN contributor Christine Quinn was astonished that Trump's team had not been aware of the allegations that California police had investigated.

In the midst of reporting on more revelations about Rep. Matt Gaetz's alleged antics at drug and sex parties with women who were reportedly underage, a remark by MSNBC's Willie Geist sent the panel off the rails in gales of laughter.

After watching a clip of Sen. Markwayne Mullins (R-OK) admit attitudes towards the embattled Florida Republican could change if it is proved he has been lying, "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough read from the Wall Street Journal, multiple allegations made against Donald Trump's pick to be attorney general.

That led co-host Willie Geist to comment, "Senator Mullins there is the one who famously said that Matt Gaetz would describe how [Gaetz] would crush up ED medication and chase it with power drinks so he could have a longer evening," which caused panelists Richard Haass and Elise Jordan to both burst out laughing, with Jordan raising her eyebrows at the suggestion.

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With co-host Jonathan Lemire sitting next to Geist shaking his head and exclaiming "Wow!" with a grin on his face, host Scarborough turned to Hass and laughed, "Richard, that doesn't happen on 'Good Morning America,'" as everyone laughed more.

An abashed Geist added, "Forgive me, I wandered down that path and realized there was no turning back."

Watch below or at the link right here.