Matt Gaetz Drops Out as Attorney General Nominee — Can He Return to Congress?

One week after President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination of Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Gaetz said he was removing his name from consideration.

In a lengthy statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, November 21, Gaetz explained that it had become "clear" that his confirmation process was "unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition."

It's important to note that Gaetz resigned from his seat in the House of Representatives immediately after being named Trump's nominee for attorney general. With his future now uncertain, questions have arisen about whether Matt Gaetz could return to Congress, seeing as he withdrew from the nomination.

As it turns out, it's possible that Matt Gaetz could potentially return to Congress. Jon Parker, a senior lecturer in American Studies at Keele University in the U.K., shared his insights on the matter with Newsweek on Thursday, November 21.

"Legally, it is ambiguous because the right to resign isn't in the Constitution," Jon told the outlet. "It is conceivable that the House could refuse the resignation."

He also suggested that Gaetz may have resigned to prevent the release of an investigation into him by the House Ethics Committee, which was looking into allegations of sexual abuse and illicit drug use — claims Gaetz has consistently denied.

The report has not been made public, despite the committee chair stating that there was no agreement to release it after a meeting on Wednesday, November 20.

"He resigned to avoid the release of the ethics report on his activities, which would be highly damaging," Jon explained. "The speaker, Mike Johnson, has seized upon that resignation as justification for halting the report, claiming it is only a rough draft. There is no way they will want Gaetz to return to the House, so it is almost certain that he will not return or have a legal case."

While Matt Gaetz technically has the option to rejoin Congress, Dr. Peter Bergerson, a political science professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, told Verify that it's not guaranteed. In fact, he pointed out that Gaetz's resignation letter to the House made it clear that he didn't plan to return to Congress.

"I hereby resign as U.S. representative of Florida’s 1st Congressional District effective immediately," Gaetz said in the letter. "And I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress to pursue the position of attorney general in the Trump administration."

This means Gaetz's seat is currently vacant — but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis cannot automatically reappoint Gaetz to the House seat since Gaetz has stepped down from the attorney general nomination.

That said, just minutes after Gaetz withdrew from consideration, the hashtag "Senator Gaetz" began trending on X. This likely sparked speculation because a Florida Senate seat could soon be open. Senator Marco Rubio is expected to be nominated for secretary of state by Trump, creating the potential for DeSantis to appoint someone to fill the seat.

Although it's possible that DeSantis could technically appoint Gaetz to the Senate seat, he mentioned on Monday, November 18, that he has already received strong interest from other candidates and is still vetting them. He expects to make a decision in early January 2025.