Matt Gaetz, Trump’s Former Attorney General Nominee, Declines Return to Congress

Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from consideration for attorney general in Donald Trump’s cabinet following ethics allegations, has announced he will not resume his position in the US House of Representatives. Gaetz informed a conservative radio host: “I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch.” A staunch ally of Trump and a leader of a hard-right faction within the House, Gaetz had resigned his seat shortly after the president-elect selected him to lead the Department of Justice. However, after eight days of intense scrutiny and increasing uncertainty about his ability to clear the US Senate’s confirmation process, he withdrew his nomination on Thursday. Before being chosen by Trump to serve as America’s chief law enforcement official, Gaetz had won re-election in his House district in north-west Florida. This meant that, despite his resignation, he could have opted to retake his seat when a new Congress convenes in January. Yet, he communicated to Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and radio host, that he would not be returning to the House. “There are a number of fantastic Floridians who stepped up to run for my seat, people who have inspired with their heroism, with their public service,” Gaetz stated. “And I’m actually excited to see north-west Florida go to new heights and have great representation.“I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress,” he added. Gaetz, 42, has been the subject of allegations including human trafficking, illegal drug use, and paying for sex, reportedly involving a 17-year-old. He denies these allegations, and an investigation by the Department of Justice did not lead to any criminal charges. Nevertheless, a separate ethics investigation by the House of Representatives was ongoing until his resignation from the chamber. On Wednesday, the House ethics committee reached a deadlock on a vote regarding the release of its report on Gaetz. House ethics investigations typically conclude if a representative resigns or is voted out of their seat. If Gaetz had chosen to rejoin the House, however, he might have faced the reopening of the investigation. In recent days, US media outlets have reported that Gaetz made electronic payments to women using the Venmo app, purportedly in exchange for sex. Gaetz commented: “If the things that the House Ethics report [said] were true, I would be under indictment and probably in a prison cell.“But of course, they’re false, because when you test them against other records, when you test them against other testimony, it all falls apart very quickly.” BBC News has not confirmed the veracity of the report or the allegations it contains. Trump selected Gaetz to serve as attorney general due to his desire to implement changes at the Justice Department—an agency that had also investigated the Florida congressman for several years. The president-elect claims he has been unfairly treated by the US legal establishment and asserted that Gaetz would end the “weaponization” of the judicial system. However, critics charged that Gaetz would use his post to pursue Trump’s personal vendettas. He also encountered skepticism from moderate Republican senators and Democrats. The fact that many members of his own party openly dislike Gaetz—due in part to his successful effort in ousting Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy in 2023, among other political actions—made his pathway to confirmation even more difficult. In his place, Trump has indicated his intention to nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as attorney general. On Friday, Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis outlined the timeline for the special election to fill the vacancy in the state’s 1st district, where Gaetz secured two-thirds of the vote in the election earlier this month. Party primaries are scheduled for 28 January, with the general election set for 1 April 2025. According to local news reports, at least six Republicans and one Democrat have announced their intention to enter the race. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.