Matt Gaetz resigned in an announcement that no one could have predicted
Donald Trump nominating Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General sent a shockwave through Washington.
The nomination of Gaetz was shocking enough but what came next flooded the political world.
And Matt Gaetz resigned in an announcement that no one could have predicted.
Matt Gaetz resigns from Congress
Shortly after Trump nominated him to serve as Attorney General, Matt Gaetz pulled off another shocker by resigning from Congress.
“[Gaetz] issued his resignation letter effective immediately…” a stunned House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced to the press.
Johnson told reporters he was learning the news essentially at the same time they were.
“That caught us by surprise a little bit, but I asked him what the reasoning was and he said, ‘Well, you can’t have too many absences,’” Johnson added.
Two other House members – Elise Stefanik and Mike Waltz – took jobs in the Trump administration.
Gaetz’s resignation means Republicans could operate with as little as a one vote majority until Florida Governor Ron DeSantis can set a date for a special election.
Johnson explained that by resigning now, Gaetz allowed DeSantis to set a special election as soon as January 3 – the date the new Congress gets sworn in.
“Under Florida State law, there’s about an eight-week period to select and fill in a vacant seat,” Johnson concluded.
Establishment Republicans line up against Gaetz
The GOP establishment in the Senate is trying to sink the Gaetz nomination.
New Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is a Mitch McConnell acolyte that hates Trump.
Thune called on Trump to drop out of the 2016 race after the Access Hollywood hit.
And Thune endorsed South Carolina Senator Tim Scott in the 2024 GOP primary after falsely claiming Trump was unelectable.
The last thing Thune and his fellow RINOs want is a Trump loyalist exposing the crimes and corruption of the Justice Department’s lawfare against Donald Trump.
Thune ally Senator Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.) told the Wall Street Journal Trump should pull the Gaetz nomination.
“It’s simply that Matt Gaetz has a very long, steep hill to get across the finish line,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.). “And it will require the spending of a lot of capital, and you just have to ask: if you could get him across the finish line, was it worth the cost?”
The Journal also reported that up to 30 Republicans would vote against Gaetz.
“One person familiar with the conversations among Republican senators said “significantly more than four” of them are opposed, which would be enough to tank Gaetz’s chances. “People are pissed,” the person said.
Other estimates ranged from more than a dozen Republican “no” votes to more than 30.
“It won’t even be close,” another person said,” the Journal reported.
This may be bluffing.
These 30 haven’t gone on the record.
And Gaetz resigning from Congress could be his way of “burning the boats” as he and Trump force the Senate to take up the Gaetz nomination since there is no chance of Gaetz going back to Congress.
