Can Matt Gaetz return to his House seat?
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Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R.-Fla.) (L) walks alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance (R) as they arrive for meetings with senators at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 20 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) could try returning to the congressional seat he resigned from, but he would potentially have to run for election again. And it's not clear he wants to.
Why it matters: The scandal-prone Republican firebrand withdrew Thursday as President-elect Trump's intended attorney general nominee — leaving his political future uncertain.
- Gaetz had already won re-election but resigned from his seat on Nov. 13, the same day Trump announced him as his AG pick, and shortly before the House Ethics Committee was set to hold a potentially pivotal meeting on its wide-ranging probe into him.
- Gaetz's potential path back to Congress is a legal gray area, government experts told Axios.
- Representatives for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), the Florida Department of State and Gaetz did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.
State of play: Leaders on Capitol Hill seem likely to let DeSantis and his secretary of state, Cord Byrd, decide whether Gaetz could serve as a representative in the upcoming 119th Congress without a special election, Politico reported Thursday.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said during a Nov. 13 news conference that he had already contacted DeSantis to "start the clock" on filling the vacant seat.
- Even if Gaetz wanted to reconsider the House, his resignation letter is likely to still be considered a "triggering mechanism" for DeSantis to call a special election, Casey Burgat, director of the Legislative Affairs program at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, told Axios.
- Gaetz's resignation should bar him from returning to serve in the 118th Congress in its final weeks, he said, but it "doesn't preclude him from running in that special election" for the 119th.
Zoom in: Gaetz didn't have to resign from Congress to serve in Trump's Cabinet, said David Lublin, the chair of the government department at American University. If he returns to Congress now, Gaetz will lose all of the seniority he had amounted from serving since 2017.
- "To the extent he was moving up in committees and had a right to chair things, he doesn't get to do that," Lublin said.
In his resignation letter, Gaetz said he does not "intend to" be sworn into another House term. Gaetz's wife Ginger Gaetz also commemorated "the end of an era" in a Thursday post on X.
- "Gaetz could try and say 'Hey, I just said I don't intend to return,' but the reality is if the speaker has declared a vacancy, he can't halfway resign," Lublin said.
Context: Gaetz's resignation came before the House Ethics Committee was set to hold a meeting on its investigation regarding sex trafficking, illicit drug use and bribe allegations against him.
- Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) on Thursday said the House should still release its report on its investigation into Gaetz — as other Democrats have called for.
What we're watching: Trump could appoint Gaetz to a role in his upcoming administration that doesn't require confirmation, Lublin said.
- "One has the sense that Matt Gaetz's ego is a little too big for the House of Representatives," he said.
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