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 had previously resigned from the House of Representatives, 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 whether he would approve it.
Congressional leaders from both parties have been scrambling to determine whether Gaetz, who won re-election this fall, will be able to return to the House next year after he withdrew his nomination as President Trump’s nominee.
“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.”
Late Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis set a date for a special election to fill Gaetz’s seat representing the 1st District. The primary election will be held on January 28th, and the general election will be held on April 1st.
Gates has attended numerous transition meetings and provided his opinions, and said he intends to continue to be involved in the personnel affairs of the incoming Trump administration.
The former congressman also praised Trump’s subsequent choice for attorney general, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, which the president-elect 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 issue. It’s a process, and sometimes you have to understand that there’s only one path you’re supposed to go down.’ 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.”
Mr. Gaetz said in Thursday’s announcement that his selection has been an “unwarranted distraction” and that “Mr. Bondi’s confirmation will not include the sharp edges that I have.”
Despite his momentum with senators, Gates claimed he had to do “two jobs at once” while meeting with them on Capitol Hill.
“I had a full-time job explaining to senators that perhaps the tweets I sent about them were thoughtless and did not reflect how I would serve as attorney general. And at the same time, I needed to build a Justice Department with the right people and the right policy infrastructure, but Pam Bondi’s confirmation will lack the sharpness that my confirmation has.”
Gaetz, whose exaggerated political tactics alienated many in his party, downplayed the allegations against him in a House ethics report and called them part of a smear campaign.
“There’s a play when you’re trying to smear someone in Washington that you go dredge up the most vile, clickbait-flavored, years-old false allegations 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 Commission 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.
Gaetz was well known on Capitol Hill for his role in ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. And on Thursday, he accused California Republicans of being responsible 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.”
CNN’s Annie Grayer and Eric Brander contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
