Matt Gaetz Resigns from Congress After Trump Nominates Him as Attorney General

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has resigned from his congressional seat after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to serve as Attorney General in his administration.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced and confirmed that Gaetz’s resignation was “effective immediately” and that a special election will be held in his congressional district.

Mike Johnson revealed that Gaetz stepped down from his post due to a state law that gives an “8-week period to select and fill a vacant seat.”

“If you start the clock now, if you do the math, we may be able to fill that seat as early as Jan. 3 when we take the new oath of office for the new Congress,” Johnson explained of Gaetz’s reasoning.

“He’s a reformer in his mind and heart, and I think he’ll bring a lot to the table on that,” Johnson added.

Trump formally nominated Gaetz to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday afternoon.

“Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System. Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” he said.

“On the House Judiciary Committee, which performs oversight of DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization,” he added.

Gaetz raised hell in Washington, DC, in 2023 with a motion to vacate then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which prevailed and ousted the California Republican from presiding over the House of Representatives.