UPDATE (11/22/2024): Matt Gaetz, who withdrew as President-elect Trump’s pick for attorney general amid sexual misconduct allegations, says he won’t rejoin Congress next year. The original story continues as published below:
Matt Gaetz, one of President-elect Donald Trump’s staunch supporters, announced on Thursday, Nov. 21, that he was withdrawing his name from consideration to be Trump’s attorney general.
Gaetz, who has been seen as divisive within his own party, has attracted controversy in recent years. He said on Thursday that his "confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition."
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating allegations that Gaetz was part of a scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. However, that probe ended with Gaetz’s recent resignation from Congress following Trump’s announcement.
Gaetz has denied all of the allegations and the Department of Justice ended a sex trafficking investigation with no charges against him in 2023.
Some Republican senators, who have to vote to approve presidential cabinet nominations like the attorney general, have expressed concerns about Gaetz since Trump announced the pick.
VERIFY reader AJ asked us if Gaetz is guaranteed to get his House seat back after withdrawing his name from attorney general consideration.
THE QUESTION
Is Matt Gaetz guaranteed to get his House seat back after withdrawing his name from attorney general consideration?
THE SOURCES
- House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) comments during a news conference on Nov. 13
- Article I, Section 2, Clause 4 of the Constitution
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) report published in January 2021
- Florida election law
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ post on X on Nov. 14, 2024
- Peter Bergerson, Ph.D., professor emeritus of political science at Florida Gulf Coast University
THE ANSWER
No, Gaetz is not guaranteed to get his House seat back after withdrawing his name from attorney general consideration.
WHAT WE FOUND
Matt Gaetz is not guaranteed to get his House seat back after withdrawing his name from attorney general consideration.
Gaetz “issued his resignation letter [from Congress] effective immediately,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said during a news conference on Nov. 13, the same day Trump announced Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general. That means Gaetz’s House seat is currently vacant.
Gaetz’s resignation letter to the House said his resignation was effective immediately and he did not intend to return to Congress after winning reelection in early November.
“I hereby resign as U.S. representative of Florida’s 1st Congressional District effective immediately. And I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress to pursue the position of attorney general in the Trump administration,” Gaetz said in the letter.
That means Gaetz’s House seat is currently vacant. But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could not automatically appoint Gaetz to his open House seat now that Gaetz has bowed out as Trump’s pick for attorney general.
That’s because the Constitution “requires that all House vacancies must be filled by special election,” according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Vacancies occur “when an incumbent member dies, resigns or leaves office for any reason before the end of their term,” the CRS says.
Article I, Section 2, Clause 4 of the Constitution says, “When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.”
In other words, state governors are responsible for ordering these special elections to fill vacancies, the CRS explains.
Florida law also says a special election will be held when House vacancies occur, but it doesn’t provide a timeline for the governor to order one.
After Trump announced Gaetz and two other Florida politicians as his cabinet picks, Gov. DeSantis said he asked the Secretary of State to expedite the special election process.
“I've instructed Secretary of State Cord Byrd to formulate and announce a schedule for the upcoming special elections immediately,” DeSantis said in a Nov. 14 X post.
Gaetz could run again in that special election, Peter Bergerson, Ph.D., professor emeritus of political science professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, told VERIFY.
It’s also possible for DeSantis to appoint Gaetz to fill Marco Rubio’s vacated Senate seat. Trump nominated Rubio to serve as his secretary of state. However, Bergerson said such a move is “very doubtful” since “there is a long line of individuals very interested in the Senate vacancy.”
There is some speculation that Gaetz could try to rescind his resignation from Congress, but there's no precedent for that happening and no guarantee that it would be accepted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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