A former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz has announced that he will not be returning to Congress next year, according to an interview aired on Friday, a day after President-elect Donald Trump’s initial nominee to lead the Department of Justice also withdrew in the aftermath of sex and drug allegations.
Gaetz, a Florida Republican who had won another term in Congress had during the interview with right-wing activist Charlie Kirk said;
“I’m still going to be in the fight but it’s going to be a from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress.”
The congressman had on Thursday withdrawn from being considered to be Trump’s U.S. Attorney General amid allegations of having sex with an underage 17-year-old girl and illicit drug use. He however, denied wrongdoing.
Gaetz had stepped down from Congress when he was nominated by Trump last week for the nation’s top law enforcement role, saying he had not intended to take up his newly won seat in the next session.
His resignation had followed the House of Representatives Ethics Committee’s investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct.
That panel had ended in an impasse along party lines on Wednesday over whether to release its findings.
So far, Gaetz is the first cabinet-level nominee expeced to serve in Trump’s upcoming administration to withdraw, although several have faced investigations over past behavior.
Another Trump nominee, Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, who was expected to become defense secretary, has also been engulfed in controversy for alleged sexual misconduct.
After Gaetz announced his withdrawal, Trump moved to nominate former Florida Attorney General and loyalist Pam Bondi.
In reaction to Trump’s decision, Gaetz praised Bondi’s nomination even as he maintained he was the victim of a purported Washington “smear” campaign.
