Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from his post in the House last week after President-elect Donald Trump picked him for attorney general—but Gaetz withdrew as nominee Thursday, leaving the right-wing firebrand’s future in doubt.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., departs after speaking during the Conservative Political Action Conference, ... [+]
Trump announced Gaetz as his pick for attorney general on Nov. 13, shocking some Congress members who expressed concern about the nomination because of Gaetz’s controversial history, including sexual misconduct allegations.
Gaetz almost immediately resigned from Congress after the nod (despite being reelected earlier this month), just days before a report from the House Ethics Committee was reportedly set to be released on sexual misconduct and drug allegations against him.
Because Gaetz resigned from Congress, his seat must be filled through a special election in Florida, per the Constitution, meaning he cannot just retake his place in the House or be appointed into the seat.
After Gaetz stepped down, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was working to announce a schedule for the special election immediately.
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After Gaetz withdrew, Trump posted on Truth Social saying Gaetz “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 continued: “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”
Gaetz—who won reelection in his Florida congressional district with 66.3% of the vote—could run for his own seat again in a special election, political science professor at Florida Gulf Coast University Peter Bergerson told Verify earlier this week.
Florida law does not explicitly lay out a timeline for filling a vacancy, though House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said following Gaetz’s resignation that there’s “about an eight-week period to select and fill a vacant seat” in Florida and he was hopeful Gaetz’s absence could be filled by Jan. 3, when the next Congress is sworn in.
“Senator Gaetz” was trending on X, formerly known as Twitter, within minutes of Gaetz announcing he was removing himself from consideration for attorney general. One Florida Senate seat will likely be open for appointment by DeSantis as Trump announced he is nominating Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state. DeSantis could technically appoint Gaetz to that seat as he has no current role in Congress, but DeSantis said on Monday he has “already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting.” He said vetting would continue through the coming weeks and he expects a selection to be made in early January.
Gaetz was recognized as one of Trump’s more controversial nominations to his Cabinet, with some Republican senators criticizing the pick. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she does not think Trump’s pick is “a serious nomination for the attorney general,” and Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, responded, “Are you sh****** me?” when asked about the nomination, according to HuffPost. Gaetz began serving in Congress in 2017 and made himself known as a die-hard Trump supporter, backing the then-president’s claims that the election in 2020 was stolen and invoking a Proud Boys slogan in support of Trump. Gaetz became the subject of a Department of Justice sexual misconduct investigation over allegations that he had sex a minor and violated sex trafficking laws by paying for sex, though it ultimately declined to prosecute him. The House Ethics Committee then probed Gaetz on the matter, and also investigated him for illicit drug use, accepting improper gifts and giving special privileges to friends. Gaetz has denied all allegations.