Matt Gaetz, the former Florida representative who resigned this week as U.S. attorney general under Donald Trump, said Friday he would not seek to return to Congress.
Related: How Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz unfolded in just eight days
“I’m still going to enter the fight, but it will be from a new position,” Gaetz told right-wing podcaster and radio host Charlie Kirk. “I do not intend to participate in the 119th Congress.”
Gaetz is a committed far-right controversialist and staunch Trump loyalist who last year played a key role in the removal of Republican Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House of Representatives, the first move ever orchestrated by a speaker’s own party.
Gaetz, who was picked as attorney general during a plane ride with Trump, was seen as likely to carry out the president-elect’s agenda of taking revenge on his political enemies and pardoning allies, including those convicted of the deadly January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters who tried unsuccessfully to overturn his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.
Gaetz quickly resigned from his U.S. House seat, which he had held for nearly three full terms on Capitol Hill.
His resignation came ahead of the release of a House of Representatives ethics committee report that included allegations of misconduct, including paying for sex with a girl under the age of consent.
Amid renewed controversy, Gaetz denied wrongdoing and pointed to the Justice Department’s decision to drop an investigation into the matter.
Nevertheless, amid feverish speculation about the report and whether confirmation would fail, Gaetz announced his withdrawal Thursday.
Debate ensued over whether Gaetz could or would try to return to the House of Representatives when the new Congress is sworn in next year.
But on Friday, Gaetz told Kirk, “There are some wonderful people from Florida who have run for my seat, people who have inspired me with their heroism, with their public service. And I’m actually excited to see Northwest Florida reaching new heights and having great representation.
“I’m 42 now and I have other goals in life that I would like to pursue – my wife and my family – so I’m going to fight for President Trump. I’m going to do what he asks of me, just like I’ve always done. But I think eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress.”
