Rep. Matt Gaetz is immediately stepping down from his position in the U.S. House of Representatives.
It comes just hours after Donald Trump announced Gaetz as his pick to be Attorney General.
The move to resign from Congress comes as a shock after it became clear Gaetz could have issues clearing Senate confirmation to lead the Department of Justice.
But a report from Punchbowl News reveals that the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on releasing a report on his conduct on Friday. But if Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress, the panel loses its jurisdiction over him.
AG Merrick Garland‘s DOJ also conducted an investigation into the Florida Republican over claims of sex trafficking, but he was never charged.
Rep. Matt Gaetz made a shock announcement that he is immediately stepping down from Congress
House Speaker Mike Johnson revealed that he received Gaetz’s resignation letter on Wednesday, effective immediately.
Now, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be able to appoint someone else to fill Gaetz’s opening House seat in in Florida’s 1st congressional district.
Johnson admitted that the resignation ‘caught us by surprise a little bit,’ but says he believes Gaetz resigned in order to prevent vacancies in the closely-split House and give DeSantis the eight weeks to find his successor.
DeSantis received a call from Johnson today to start initiating the process of finding a replacement.
