President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as US attorney general.
Gaetz has submitted his resignation from Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. The resignation will not take effect until it is announced on the floor of the House.
Trump, in a Truth Social post announcing Gaetz’s selection, wrote that the 42-year-old lawmaker “has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving much-needed reform at the Department of Justice.”
Gaetz responded at X, “It would be an honor to be President Trump’s Attorney General!”
The choice is the clearest example of how Trump, who has sworn off many of his former staffers as “RINOs” – Republicans in Name Only – or opponents of him and his MAGA agenda, has made loyalty a key qualification for his second administration.
If the Senate confirms him, Gaetz will replace Attorney General Merrick Garland, who led the Justice Department while conducting a congressional sex-trafficking investigation.
The DOJ ultimately declined to charge Gaetz.
Gaetz has been the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation into whether he engaged in sexual activity or drug use.
But Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday that “the House Ethics Committee has no more jurisdiction over that person, no more authority” if it’s not in Congress.
House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., told reporters earlier Wednesday, “If Mr. Gaetz is going to resign because he’s taking a position with the administration as Attorney General, then the Ethics Committee loses jurisdiction at that point.”
Gaetz, who has denied wrongdoing, said in September that he would no longer voluntarily participate in the panel’s investigation.
Punchbowl News reported Wednesday that the resignation came just two days before the panel was set to vote on publishing a report on its probe.
The lawmaker, who has carved out a reputation as a staunch and vocal Trump loyalist, has aggressively criticized the DOJ investigation and the prosecution of the president-elect by special counsel Jack Smith.
In October 2023, Gaetz filed an original motion to oust then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Republican. A group of eight Republicans led by Gaetz would eventually join with all House Democrats to remove McCarthy as speaker, throwing the GOP conference into chaos.
Gaetz traveled with Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and others Wednesday during the president-elect’s first trip to Washington, DC, since defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, NBC News reported.
Trump’s selection of Gaetz came as a major surprise to even his fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Just a day earlier, Johnson, whose majority was projected to be slim after Trump tapped GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and Florida Rep. Mike Waltz to join the incoming administration, saying, “I don’t expect that we will have more. members leave.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told Punchbowl News she was “surprised” by Gaetz’s selection.
“That’s why the Senate’s advice and approval process is so important,” Collins said to the news outlet. “I’m sure there will be many, many questions raised at Mr. Gaetz’s hearing.”
Asked by a HuffPost reporter whether Gaetz had the character to be attorney general, Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, responded, “Are you s——- me?”
