Matt Gaetz Resigns from Congress After Trump Tapped Him for AG, Meaning Ethics Committee Will Drop Sex-Trafficking Probe

Republican U.S. representatives, U.S. senators, and staffers were floored Wednesday afternoon on hearing that President-elect Donald Trump had tapped controversial Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) to serve in his administration as attorney general. “No words,” one House Republican put it in a text message to National Review after hearing the news.

Then came another surprising development — Speaker Mike Johnson’s announcement to reporters on Wednesday evening that Gaetz had resigned from the House, effective immediately. Gaetz’s resignation means the House Ethics Committee — which has been investigating sexual misconduct and other unsavory allegations against the Florida congressman — will drop its probe and the committee will no longer have any jurisdiction over the matter. Punchbowl reported Wednesday evening that the Ethics Committee was planning to release its “highly damaging” report on the matter on Friday. Recall that the Justice Department previously investigated him over sex-trafficking allegations but did not end up bringing criminal charges against him, and Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

A special election will ensue to fill his seat. The speaker expressed optimism that the House could get a replacement as early as January, though that timeline could prove tricky. “I think out of deference to us, he issued his resignation letter effective immediately, of Congress,” Johnson told reporters. “That caught us by surprise a little bit. But I asked him what the reasoning was, and he said, ‘Well, you can’t have too many absences.’”

Hours before Gaetz resigned, there were early indicators from the upper chamber’s more centrist GOP members that he faces a tough road ahead on the Senate confirmation front.

Gaetz is a controversial figure on Capitol Hill, having triggered the snap vote of confidence that prompted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster in October 2023. And yet he has remained close to Trump, even helping him with debate prep earlier this year.