CNN
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Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general nomination on Thursday, said Friday he will not return to Congress next year.
“I’m still going to join the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I’m not going to join the 119th Congress,” he told Charlie Kirk in an interview.
Gates, who was first elected in 2016, was elected earlier this month after President Trump selected him to head the Department of Justice and before the House Ethics Committee released its report on Gates, which included allegations of sexual misconduct. Gates resigned from the House of Representatives in 2015, but Gates denied this. . The fate of the report, and whether it would be released without him in Congress, sparked a heated debate on Capitol Hill over his approval.
After Gaetz withdrew from President Trump’s nomination, Congressional leaders from both parties were scrambling to determine whether he would be able to return to the House next year after winning re-election this fall.
“There are so many great Floridians who have come forward to run for my seat, people who have been an inspiration to me with their heroism and public service, and I want to help Northwest Florida reach new heights.” And I’m actually excited to see them have great representation,” Gates told Kirk.
He added, “I’m going to fight for President Trump. As always, I’m going to do whatever he asks of me. But I think eight years is probably enough in the United States Congress.”
The former member of the House of Representatives, who has attended numerous transition meetings and provided his opinions, said he intends to continue to be involved in the personnel affairs of the next Trump administration.
He also praised the president-elect’s subsequent choice for attorney general, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, announced hours after he withdrew Gates’ name.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing how this transition goes. I know there are some people who are disappointed that I won’t be the next attorney general, but this is a political matter. It’s a process, and sometimes you have to understand that there’s only one path you’re going to take. It takes you to a different place, and it can be a great place.” Gates told Kirk.
“My good friend Pam Bondi would be a phenomenal attorney general for Donald Trump. She has legal acumen. She hates criminals. She’s a smart A fellow Floridian with a legal mindset.”
Gaetz, who said in Thursday’s announcement that his selection has become an “unfair distraction,” insisted in an interview that the senators had momentum this week, but added that “Mr. Bondi’s The approval will not have the sharp edges that my approval has.” ”
Gaetz downplayed the allegations against him in the House Ethics Report, calling them part of a smear campaign.
“There’s a play when you’re trying to smear someone in Washington that you go dredge up years-old false allegations in the most despicable, click-bait flavor possible,” Gaetz told Kirk.
Gates has vehemently denied the allegations investigated by the Justice Department and the committee, including allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a woman in 2017 when he was a minor.
CNN reported on Thursday, just before Gaetz was removed from the running for attorney general, a source familiar with her testimony told the Ethics Committee that the woman had two sexual encounters with Gaetz at a party in 2017 when she was 17 years old. It was reported that he said that there was. She testified that a second, previously unreported sexual encounter involved another adult female. She also testified about both sexual encounters in a civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit, officials said.
But during his four terms as a member of Congress, Mr. Gates’ firebombing political tactics alienated many within the party, particularly his role in the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
On Thursday, he blamed the California Republican for his death.
“I was dealing with politically motivated groups, and they didn’t like me because of what I did to Kevin McCarthy,” Gates said. “And they had an ax to grind. So that would at least serve as a good enough basis to delay my confirmation as attorney general.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
