On Friday, former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz reportedly said that he will not be returning to Congress in the upcoming year. On Thursday, Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for attorney general.
“I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” Gaetz announced during a new interview with Charlie Kirk.
“There are a number of fantastic Floridians who’ve stepped up to run for my seat, people who have inspired with their heroism, with their public service. And I’m actually excited to see Northwest Florida go to new heights and have great representation,” Gaetz added.
“I’m going to be fighting for President Trump. I’m going to be doing whatever he asks of me, as I always have. But I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress.” he concluded.
Earlier this month, Gaetz, who had been elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2016, resigned from his position after Trump chose him to run the Department of Justice.
After gaining reelection this autumn, however, senior congressional officials from both parties were frantically trying to figure out whether or not Gaetz would be able to return to the House of Representatives the next year.
Earlier this year, an opponent who was supported by associates of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was defeated by Gaetz in a primary election with relative ease.
Despite the fact that an outside political action committee (PAC) spent millions of dollars on vicious advertisements that brought up suspicions that Gaetz paid for sex through a former friend who has now been convicted, Gaetz earned more than seventy percent of the vote in his congressional primary.
The Department of Justice had previously decided not to press charges against Gaetz after conducting an investigation into many of the allegations in question.
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