Trump’s former Cabinet nominee Matt Gaetz says he won’t return to Congress

Matt Gaetz said he will not return to the US Congress next year, according to an interview aired Friday, a day after President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department withdrew amid sex and drug allegations. .

“I will continue to fight, but it will be from a new place. I have no intention of joining the 119th Congress,” Gaetz, a Florida Republican who had won another term in Congress, said in an interview with right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

The congressman retired on Thursday from consideration to be Trump’s United States Attorney General amid accusations of having had sexual relations with a minor under 17 years of age and of illicit drug use. Gaetz denied any wrongdoing.

The lawmaker had resigned from Congress when he was nominated by Trump last week for the nation’s top law enforcement position and said he had no intention of taking his newly won seat in the next session.

His resignation also came amid the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. On Wednesday, the panel reached a partisan deadlock over whether to publish its findings.

Gaetz is the first Cabinet-level nominee to serve in the next Trump administration to withdraw, although several have faced scrutiny over their behavior. Another, Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator tapped as defense secretary, has also been embroiled in controversy over alleged sexual misconduct.

After Gaetz’s departure, Trump appointed Pam Bondiformer Florida attorney general and loyalist to the president. Gaetz praised Bondi’s nomination and said in the interview that he was the victim of an alleged “smear” campaign by Washington, according to .

“I’m going to fight for President Trump. I’m going to be doing everything he asks of me, like I always have,” Gaetz said in the interview. “But I think eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress.”

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels YouTube, WhatsApp and to the newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.