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Rep. Matt Gaetz resigns from Congress after Donald Trump nominates him for Attorney General

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Published  November 13, 2024 4:38pm PST
Politics
FOX 35 Orlando

The Brief

    • Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has resigned from Congress after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him for attorney general
    • Gaetz was embroiled in an ethics probe launched against him by the Justice Department, alleging that Gaetz participated in sex trafficking, sexual misconduct and drug use.
    • Resigning from Congress effectively ends the ethics probe against him. 

ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has resigned from Congress, hours after President-elect Donald Trump announced he would be nominated for Attorney General.

Gaetz's resignation effectively ends a years-long investigation by the House Ethics Committee, spurred by the Department of Justice (DOJ), looking into reports in early 2021 that he had a relationship with an underage girl. The DOJ declined to charge Gaetz in 2023. 

Biden and Trump meet at White House

Donald Trump made a victor's return to Washington on Wednesday, visiting the White House for a nearly two-hour meeting with President Joe Biden and committing to a straightforward transition of power as the president-elect moves quickly to build out his new administration.

"Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice. Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System. Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department," Trump said in a statement.

Gaetz, 42, who just won reelection to represent Florida's 1st Congressional District in the Panhandle, has served in that role since 2017.

"It will be an honor to serve as President Trump's Attorney General," Rep. Gaetz said in a post on X.

"Congratulations," replied Elon Musk, who Trump tasked with leading the Department of Government Efficiency alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Moments earlier, Trump selected Sen. Marco Rubio to serve as his Secretary of State. 

Who is Matt Gaetz?

Gaetz was born in South Florida but grew up in the Florida Panhandle, having graduated from Niceville High School in 2000. He attended Florida State University, where he earned a B.S. in interdisciplinary sciences in 2003. Gaetz then pursued a doctorate in jurisprudence from William & Mary Law School, graduating in 2007.  

After working at a private law firm in Fort Walton Beach for three years, Gaetz, the son of Former Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, launched his own political career. 

In March 2010, he won a special election in Florida House District 4 to replace Republican State Rep. Ray Sansom, who had resigned after charges of corruption. Gaetz ran unopposed later that year in the general election for a full term. After redistricting, he was reelected unopposed in 2012 and 2014.

In 2016, Gaetz was elected to represent Florida's 1st Congressional District, which includes the Panhandle cities of Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, and Destin, and is home to a number of military bases. 

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During his tenure in Congress, Gaetz has served on the House Armed Services and Judiciary committees as well as a number of subcommittees, including the Criminal Justice Subcommittee and Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

Gaetz was a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of congressional representatives considered to be among the most conservative, and was instrumental in the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy following the 2022 midterm elections in which Republicans regained control of the chamber. 

Gaetz had been under a House investigation over allegations that he had a relationship with an underage girl. In June, the House Ethics Committee expanded its review to include allegations that 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.

Why did DOJ launch investigation into Gaetz?

The arrest of a former Central Florida politician led to a federal probe into U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. In December 2022, former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of child sex trafficking, stalking, and wire fraud. 

Greenberg pleaded guilty to six federal charges in May 2021 as part of a plea agreement with the DOJ. In that agreement, Greenberg admitted to paying women for sex, including an underage girl he met on the internet. Greenberg also admitted to introducing that girl to other adult men in Florida, though the agreement did not explicitly name the other men allegedly involved. 

During an investigation into Greenburg, it was alleged that Gaetz, a friend and associate of Greenberg, paid a 17-year-old girl for sex. The DOJ dropped its probe into Gaetz in 2023 and said no charges would be brought against the Republican congressman. 

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