Trump's withdrawn attorney general pick will not return to Congress
- Published
Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from consideration as attorney general in Donald Trump’s cabinet over ethics allegations, says he will not return to his seat in the US House of Representatives.
Gaetz told 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 Trump ally and leader of a hard-right faction in the House, Gaetz resigned his seat shortly after being picked by the president-elect to lead the Department of Justice.
But after eight days of scrutiny and growing uncertainty that he would be able to get through the US Senate's confirmation process, he withdrew his nomination on Thursday.
Prior to being chosen by Trump to serve as America's top law enforcement official, Gaetz won re-election in his House district in north-west Florida.
That meant, despite his resignation, he could have chosen to retake his seat when a new Congress is formed in January.
But he told Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and radio host, that he would not return 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 said. “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 said.
Gaetz, 42, has been the subject of allegations of human trafficking, illegal drug use and paying for sex, including with a 17-year-old. He denies the allegations, and a Department of Justice investigation did not result in any criminal charges.
However, a separate House of Representative ethics investigation was ongoing until he resigned from the chamber.
On Wednesday the House ethics committee deadlocked on a vote on whether to release its report on Gaetz. House ethics investigations generally end if a representative resigns or is voted out of their seat.
If Gaetz had chosen to rejoin the House, however, he may have faced having the investigation re-opened.
In recent days, US media outlets have reported that Gaetz made electronic payments to women using the Venmo app, allegedly in exchange for sex.
Gaetz said: “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.”
The BBC News has not confirmed the veracity of the report or the allegations that it contains.
Trump selected Gaetz to serve as attorney general for his desire to make changes at the justice department - which had also investigated the Florida congressman for several years.
The president-elect claims he has been unfairly treated by the US legal establishment and said that Gaetz would end the “weaponization” of the judicial system.
But critics charged that Gaetz would use his post to pursue Trump's personal vendettas. He also faced scepticism 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 stunts - made his pathway to confirmation even more difficult.
In his place, Trump has said he intends to nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as attorney general.
On Friday, Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis set out the timeline for the special election to fill the vacancy in the state’s 1st district, where Gaetz won two-thirds of the vote in the election earlier this month.
Party primaries will be held on 28 January with the general election held on 1 April 2025.
At least six Republicans and one Democrat have said they will enter the race, according to local news reports.