Matt Gaetz has hinted that he might not be disappearing from politics just yet as speculation mounts that he could take Marco Rubio’s open seat in the Senate.
Gaetz, who withdrew his name from consideration as Donald Trump’s attorney general on Thursday, posted a cryptic message on his X account in response to a supportive post from Vice President-elect JD Vance.
“Thank you, Mr. VP-Elect! I look forward to continuing the fight to save our country. Just maybe from a different post,” Gaetz said.
His post has helped fuel speculation that he could either replace Rubio in the Senate, attempt to claw back his seat in the House after resigning, or be appointed to a different Trump administration role that does not require Senate approval.
“I’m not sure that this is dead,” Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland, a member of the House Ethics Committee, told the Daily Beast.
After Rubio was named Trump’s pick for secretary of state, a position that will likely be confirmed by the Senate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was left with the task of appointing his replacement in the upper chamber.
Senator Rick Scott, who lost out to Senator John Thune to become Majority Leader, said that Gaetz could be a “great” pick to replace Rubio.
But there have been rumblings that Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump is the favorite for the role.
Scott diplomatically told Politico: “I think Lara Trump is a great pick. But Matt would be a great person. But I think Lara would do a great job.”
The idea was echoed by former Sean Hannity producer Kylie Jane Kremer, who posted on X: “Senator Matt Gaetz has a nice ring to it.”
But a source close to DeSantis poured cold water on the idea, the National Review reported.
“He won’t appoint Matt,” the source told the outlet, referring to DeSantis. Gaetz backed Trump over the governor in the 2024 Republican primary.
It is currently unclear if Gaetz will try to win back his seat in the House. His wife Ginger declared on her Instagram page that it was the “end of an era” shortly after her husband announced he was withdrawing his attorney general nomination.
Gaetz resigned from his seat last week as soon as he was tapped by Trump to join his administration.
When he resigned, he specified he was resigning from his term in the current Congress, the 118th, while announcing he did not intend to assume a seat in January in the 119th, even though he had just won re-election to it earlier in the month.
If Gaetz did decide he wanted to return to Congress, House rules may bar him from retaking his seat, and he may instead have to compete for it again in a special election in Florida, as the U.S. Constitution calls for special elections to fill House vacancies.
The Republican left Congress two days before an explosive House Ethics Committee report was slated to be released about him, in which a witness reportedly claimed Gaetz paid her for sex. Gaetz has denied the allegations at issue in the ethics committee inquiry, as well as those related to a Department of Justice sex trafficking probe into Gaetz and his associates. The DOJ did not charge Gaetz with any crimes.
In the wake of his resignation, the ethics panel’s jurisdiction ended.
Its members are still debating whether or not to release the findings, with House Democrats – and some Republicans – calling for it to be made public. Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois said he welcomed Gaetz’s withdrawal, but “it remains important that the Gaetz report be made available to the American people.”
Trump quickly replaced Gaetz on Thursday by nominating former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi as his next choice to lead the Department of Justice.
