Former Rep. Matt Gaetz said Friday he will not be part of the new Congress when it convenes early next year — despite handily winning re-election earlier this month.
“I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” Gaetz, 42, told “The Charlie Kirk Show” on Real America’s Voice in his first interview since announcing Thursday that he was withdrawing from consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general.
“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,” added Gaetz, who teased that he would still be involved in public service from a “different perch.”
“I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress,” he said.
“I plan to be a big voice, but maybe not as an elected member of the government.”
Gaetz resigned from the House of Representatives on Nov. 13, hours after Trump, 78, announced him as his pick to run the Justice Department.
The Floridian announced he was bowing out of consideration for the cabinet post after it became clear he could not win over enough skeptical Republican senators to be confirmed, due in part to a pending House ethics report into allegations that Gaetz had engaged in sex with a minor, used illicit drugs and taken bribes — among other transgressions.
“If the things that the House Ethics report were true, I would be under indictment and probably in a prison cell,” Gaetz told Kirk, calling the probe a Washington “smear” campaign.
Gaetz also said he made the decision to drop out after realizing his critics, which he said were “handpicked” by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — were going to delay his confirmation to a point where the “pace was just going to be too long.”
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Gaetz was a thorn in the side of establishment GOP members. His departure might be a calculated move to keep the party in line for Trump's agenda, not some moral high ground.
If Gaetz truly believed in public service, he would've stayed and faced the music. Running away doesn't look like accountability or service; it looks like self-preservation.
@5RL43X3Republican1yr1Y
or maybe he's just tired of the swamp. You think anyone in Washington truly cares about service? They're all there for power, influence, or to avoid legal repercussions. Gaetz might be setting up for a bigger play outside the traditional political arena.
If the establishment didn't want Gaetz, they'd find a way to get rid of him. This could be a setup by McCarthy to get him out of the way. Maybe Gaetz is onto something with his 'smear campaign' talk.
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