Shortly after Donald Trump made the shocking announcement to nominate Representative Matt Gaetz for attorney general on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that Gaetz had already resigned from his congressional seat.
While the Florida representative’s sudden exit may appear to be premature, as Gaetz still needs to be confirmed to the position by the very same Republican senators he pissed off by voting to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year, it seems that Gaetz had another reason to cut his tenure short.
Gaetz’s resignation came just two days before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on releasing a report outlining its multiyear investigation into the MAGA Republican over his alleged sexual misconduct and drug use, according to Punchbowl News.
By departing his seat, the House Ethics panel has lost its jurisdiction over Gaetz and must end its investigation. Representative John Rutherford, who sits on the committee, said Thursday that the ethics report “can’t” be released, but did not explain why.
The secretive panel has been investigating Gaetz since 2021 over a slew of allegations, including sexual misconduct, sharing inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, and converting campaign funds for personal use.
Gaetz was previously investigated by the Justice Department over allegations that he’d engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old girl and violated sex trafficking laws, but no charges were ever formally filed against him. Now, Gaetz will head the agency that once tried to investigate him.
After Gaetz’s nomination to run the Justice Department was announced Wednesday, many Republicans in Congress were left in a state of shock. Current and former DOJ officials called his pick “insane” and “stunning,” and one person called him “the least qualified person ever nominated for any position in the Department of Justice,” according to NBC News.
Gaetz’s sudden resignation also demonstrates just how serious Trump is about his demand for Senate leadership to approve recess confirmations, which would allow him to appoint Cabinet members without investigation or approval from Congress.
This story has been updated.
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