Ginger Gaetz called it “the end of an era” after her husband Matt withdrew his name to be Donald Trump’s next attorney general.
In the moments after he made his announcement, the 30-year-old, self-described “wifey” of the former Florida congressman posted a photo of the pair walking on the steps of the Capitol building on Instagram writing: “The end of an era. No one loves America more than this guy.”
It is yet not clear whether the enigmatic ‘end of an era’ remark refers to Gaetz’s bid to become AG, or his wider political career as his withdrawal immediately sparked questions of what he will do next.
The 42-year-old Florida Republican resigned from the House last week after Trump tapped him to lead the Justice Department — the very department that had been investigating him over sex trafficking allegations.
Ginger has signaled her support for her husband, despite the mounting backlash in the one week since he was nominated. After Gaetz was first tapped for the powerful role, his wife wrote: “Attorney General will look great on you my love.”
When he resigned from the House, she wrote that Florida’s 1st congressional district “is truly blessed to have you representing us.”
The former Congressman wrote on X on Thursday: “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
Trump responded to Gaetz’s withdrawal in a Truth Social post: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”
The probe led to no charges against Gaetz, but his associate Joel Greenberg pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor and other crimes in 2021. He is serving an 11-year prison sentence.
The House Ethics Committee also investigated claims that Gaetz had engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and other activity. A debate among Congress members has ensued over whether to release a report of the committee’s findings.
But leaks in the media have suggested that Gaetz paid $10,000 in Venmo and PayPal payments from 2017 through 2019 to two women who later testified before the committee. Some of those payments were allegedly used in transactions for sex, according to ABC News, which obtained records of the transactions.
