TALLAHASSEE — Matt Gaetz’s knack for courting controversy has finally caught up with him. The rightwing firebrand, political prankster, steadfast Trump defender and party animal stepped down as the president-elect’s choice for attorney general once it was made clear to him he didn’t have the needed support in the U.S. Senate. Senators on both sides of the aisle had reacted to the former Florida congressman’s nomination with shock, with one calling him “a not serious candidate” and others demanding more details about the sex scandals swirling around him for the past few years. After being asked Thursday to comment on a report that a 17-year-old girl had sex with him twice at a former lawmaker’s house party in Seminole County in 2017, Gaetz bowed out so he would not “unfairly become a distraction” for President-elect Donald Trump. Even without the allegations of sexual misconduct, Gaetz was an unusual choice for attorney general, experts said.