Matt Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration as Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, but he potentially could return to Congress despite his resignation last week.
The Florida Republican stepped away from his congressional seat after Trump announced his nomination but before the House Ethics Committee was poised to issue a report on its sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz. He said in his letter of resignation that he did "not intend" to return to the House despite winning re-election earlier this month.
“I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress to pursue the position of Attorney General," he wrote.
But political observers noticed that Gaetz was not definitive — and left wiggle room for him to potentially change his mind.
"Now that Matt Gaetz will not continue to pursue the AG job, parse the second sentence of his resignation letter carefully," tweeted MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin. "Sounds like Florida Man is going back to Congress if he wants to."
"The huge question now for Hill leadership: Can Gaetz come back?" said CNN Capitol Hill reporter Sarah Ferris. "[Republicans] have been privately warning that Gaetz has been 5-10 steps ahead of people (including Trump) from the start."
"Gaetz COULD be sworn in to the new Congress; he WAS elected Whereupon... His investigation by the House Ethics Committee would come back to official life," said broadcaster Keith Olbermann.
"Gaetz may not come back to the 118th Congress," said House procedure expert Matt Glassman. "He has resigned his seat, and there are no backsies for Members who resign their seat. A Member-elect may resign their seat prior to being sworn-in to office. Did Gaetz actually resign from the 119th Congress? He said in his resignation from the 118th that he 'did not intend to take the oath of office' for the 119th. I can read that both ways as to whether he actually resigned?"
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram said Gaetz could inform the clerk of the House that he does intend to serve in the new Congress because his stated intention is not binding, and the House Ethics Committee must end its inquiry into him by the end of the current congressional term on Jan. 3.
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"However, there is precedent for the House Ethics Committee VOTING to carry over an inquiry from one Congress to another," Pergram said. "So it’s not unheard of that this is a done deal. The committee still wants to finish its current work. However, if Gaetz is not going to serve in the new Congress and has withdrawn his nomination for Attorney General, this likely diminishes the importance of publicly releasing the report of a former Member."
"Yes, there may be damning information in the report," Pergram added. "But the House USUALLY does not release reports about former Members – even though there is precedent for doing so. Moreover, the Senate Judiciary Committee isn’t interested in the report now that Gaetz is not before them as the Attorney General nominee. In addition, if Gaetz DOES elect to serve in the House, that helps the GOP with their numbers with Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Michael Waltz (R-MN) – and maybe more – leaving to join the Trump Administration."
