Donald Trump’s selection of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to be the country's next attorney general prompted his resignation from Congress, but according to reports, the possible release of a House Ethics Committee investigative report may have also played a role in his stepping down.
Gaetz, a MAGA enthusiast and Trump loyalist, has been under sporadic investigation by a House panel since 2021, and according to new reporting in Punchbowl News, his resignation hours after Trump announced him as the next leader of the Justice Department came two days before the committee was scheduled to vote on whether to release a “highly damaging” report detailing its investigation.
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The House Ethics Committee’s probe has centered on whether the Florida congressman “engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift,” according to Punchbowl News reporter Melanie Zanona.
The publication reported that the House Ethics Committee loses jurisdiction over a former member once they leave Congress.
Gaetz’s resignation was confirmed by House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier Wednesday, who said it “caught us by surprise a little bit,” adding: “But I asked him what the reasoning was, and he said, ‘Well, you can't have too many absences.’”