Office of the Attorney General sign (Matt Gaetz not pictured) — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Image by: Heidi Besen
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida is President-elect Donald Trump’s unexpected and very contentious choice to be the U.S. attorney general, potentially igniting a Senate confirmation battle.
In order to start the process of finding a replacement for Gaetz, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson informed reporters during a press conference on Wednesday night that Gaetz had resigned from Congress “effective immediately.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is presently in Italy on a trade mission, is responsible for calling a special election to replace Gaetz in the House.
Johnson stated that he will speak with the governor of Florida “first thing in the morning” on Thursday.
Far-right extremist Gaetz falsely accused antifa activists of being responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and disseminated conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 presidential election.
He chastised Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for permitting the investigation to proceed and rejected attempts to look into connections between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Russian government.
A Justice Department investigation into Gaetz’s suspected involvement in sex trafficking and obstruction of justice concluded last year without any charges, according to a statement from his congressional office. The focus of the investigation was Gaetz’s relationship with Joel Greenberg, a convicted former Seminole County Tax Collector, and whether he had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl years prior. In that case, a number of Gaetz’s acquaintances provided testimony to a federal grand jury in Orlando.
In the end, prosecutors decided not to file charges against the lawmaker, who has denied any misconduct on numerous occasions. However, the House Ethics Committee’s nonpartisan inquiry into his actions is still ongoing. The committee said in a statement in June that the accusations against him “merit continued review” and that fresh accusations had surfaced that needed more examination.
According to PunchBowl News, Gaetz resigned on Wednesday ahead of the House Ethics Committee’s anticipated vote on Friday to publish a report on its probe into Gaetz. The committee will no longer have authority over Gaetz as a result of his resignation.
Trump described Gaetz as a “highly skilled and tenacious litigator who will “concentrate on achieving sorely needed change at the Department of Justice” when he announced the appointment.
The politicized weaponization of our justice system is one of the most critical challenges facing America. “Matt will dismantle criminal organizations, safeguard our borders, put an end to weaponized government, and rebuild Americans’ severely damaged faith and confidence in the Justice Department,” Trump wrote.
He went on to say, “Matt will eradicate the systemic corruption at DOJ and restore the Department to its original purpose of combating crime and defending our democracy and Constitution.” “At DOJ, honesty, integrity, and transparency are essential.”
Gaetz is the most recent in a long line of Floridians appointed to high-profile positions in Trump’s upcoming government. The president-elect has already appointed U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz as his national security advisor, and veteran Florida GOP operator Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff.
The rush of announcements will probably change the political landscape in Florida, as speculation is rife about who DeSantis would choose to fill Rubio’s Senate seat and who will be interested in competing for the seats left vacant by Gaetz and Waltz.
State Representative Michelle Salzman of Pensacola, a Republican, has indicated that she would consider competing for Gaetz’s seat in North Florida. Before time runs out in that campaign, DeSantis will have to schedule a special election.
The son of a former president of the Florida state Senate, Gaetz has limited practical legal expertise. Prior to winning a state House seat in a 2010 special election, he earned his law degree from William & Mary in 2007 and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2008. He stayed in Tallahassee until 2016, when he was elected to the U.S. House.
After Gaetz tweeted against Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen in 2019, the Florida Bar opened an investigation, but the Republican firebrand was eventually exonerated.
Gaetz is known as a hard-right agitator among his Washington colleagues.
With the support of other right-wing legislators, Gaetz attempted to remove then-U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his position last year after he successfully pushed a stopgap budget package through Congress with the aid of a coalition of Democrats.
Although that attempt ultimately succeeded, it sparked a weeks-long struggle to unseat McCarthy, which many Republicans perceived as a humiliating public demonstration of their inner agony.
Gaetz has maintained a tight relationship with Trump, who has frequently stated his intention to place loyalists in the most important positions in the US administration, despite the fact that he has annoyed many of his Republican congressional colleagues. Gaetz embodies that ideal as one of the most outspoken opponents of the FBI and Justice Department on Capitol Hill.
During his first four years in office, Trump has already shown remorse over a few of his appointments. Trump said that certain members of his government failed to live up to his expectations during his first term at a Univision town hall with Latino voters in Doral last month. He promised not to let that happen again.
Trump claimed to be aware of both the good and the bad, the intelligent and the foolish, and the ones lacking bravery. “You believe that until you are put to the test, you can never truly understand what courage is. However, I am quite familiar with the people. I am aware of who I want and who I do not want.
Republicans seem certain to keep control of the House with a small majority, even though votes in a number of districts around the nation are still being counted. GOP leaders are eager to replace the positions left vacant by Trump’s appointments of other House Republicans to positions in his administration.
However, a special election to replace Gaetz may not be held for months.
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