Rep. Matt Gaetz resigns from Congress amid Trump nomination

Rep. Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress on Wednesday after President-elect Donald Trump tapped him for attorney general. 

Now that he has resigned, an ethics probe into allegations of sex trafficking, sexual misconduct and drug use against Gaetz by the Justice Department has also ended. 

Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, and said last year that the Justice Department's investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.

Gaetz’s nomination was one of several Trump made today as he continues to flesh out his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.

Gaetz's departure will prompt an eight-week clock to fill his seat, House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday, possibly in time for the new Congress on Jan. 3, 2025. 

Gaetz's statement on his nomination

In a statement Wednesday announcing his pick, Trump said Gaetz would root out "systemic corruption" at the Justice Department and return the department "to its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and constitution."

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gaetz wrote, "It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!"

Hours before the announcement, Gaetz said in a social media post that there needs to be a "full court press against this WEAPONIZED government." He added, "And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to get going!" If confirmed as attorney general, he would oversee both the FBI and the ATF, formally known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

FILE - U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) walks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Expand

What was Gaetz being investigated for? 

The federal sex trafficking investigation that began under Attorney General Bill Barr during Trump's first term focused on allegations that Gaetz and onetime political ally Joel Greenberg paid underage girls and escorts or offered them gifts in exchange for sex.

Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison.

Federal investigators scrutinized a trip that Gaetz took to the Bahamas with a group of women and a doctor who donated to his campaign, and whether the women were paid or received gifts to have sex with the men, according to people familiar with the matter who were not allowed to publicly discuss the investigation. Prosecutors also investigated whether Gaetz and his associates tried to secure government jobs for some of the women, and looked into Gaetz’s connections to the medical marijuana sector, including whether his associates sought to influence legislation Gaetz sponsored, the people have said.

Gaetz remains under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that he was part of a scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl.

The committee began its review of Gaetz in April 2021, deferred its work in response to a Justice Department request, and renewed its work shortly after Gaetz announced that the Justice Department had ended a sex trafficking investigation.

Over the summer, the committee provided an unusual public update into its long-running investigation, saying its review now includes whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz has categorically denied all the allegations before the committee.

What will happen if Gaetz is confirmed? 

Rep. Michael Guest, the Republican chair of the House Ethics Committee, told The Associated Press that Gaetz's nomination does not change the panel’s ongoing probe. But if Gaetz is confirmed for the cabinet position, the committee will no longer have jurisdiction to continue its probe or release its report, he said.

"We’re not going to rush this investigation because of the appointment," Guest said. "And so we’re going to again follow the rules and the procedures that we set in place."