Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from the House last week. That’s final. The House precedent is that once you leave, that’s it. Therefore, Gaetz cannot revoke his resignation letter from last week. He declared that he would resign “with immediate effect.”
As previously reported, Gaetz could be part of the new Congress. He was duly re-elected to his seat for the new Congress which will convene on January 3. In his letter to the Clerk of the House, Gaetz stated, “I have no intention of taking the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress to serve as Attorney General in the Trump Administration.”
GAETZ RETIRES AS ATTORNEY GENERAL
Reps. Matt Gaetz (R) and Andy Ogles listen as former President Donald Trump speaks to the media during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 16, 2024, in New York York. (Angela Weiss-Pool/Getty Images)
However, Fox is told that Gaetz would have to inform the clerk of the House that he does, in fact, intend to serve in the new Congress, if he so chooses. Gaetz has not indicated his future plans. That part of Gaetz’s letter is not binding.
Technically, the House Ethics Committee must conclude its investigation into Gaetz by the end of this Congress at 11:59:59 a.m. EST on January 3. However, there is precedent for the House Ethics Committee to vote to move an investigation from one Congress to another. So it’s no wonder this is a done deal.
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Matt Gaetz addresses the House of Representatives as members of the US House of Representatives vote on articles of impeachment against the US Secretary of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on February 6, 2024. (Brendan Smailowski/AFP via Getty Images)
The committee still wants to finish its current work. However, if Gaetz is not going to be part of the new Congress and has withdrawn his nomination for attorney general, this will likely diminish the importance of publicly releasing a former member’s report. Yes, there may be damning information in the report, but the House does not typically release reports on former members, even if there is precedent for doing so. Furthermore, the Senate Judiciary Committee is not interested in the report, now that Gaetz is not before them as a candidate for attorney general.
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Additionally, if Gaetz chooses to serve in the House, that would help the GOP with its numbers, with Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-Minn., and Michael Waltz, R-Minn. – and perhaps more – leaving to join the Trump administration.
