Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, has taken himself out of the running following scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation.
The US House Ethics Committee had been investigating allegations that the former Republican representative for Florida was part of a scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Mr Gaetz resigned from Congress on Wednesday, meaning that the House Ethics Committee's ongoing probe into allegations against Gaetz of child sex trafficking ends.
In June, the committee gave an unusual public update on its review, which it said also included whether Mr Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.
The committee announced that it was no longer reviewing four other allegations involving the congressman, including that he shared inappropriate images or videos with colleagues on the House floor or that he accepted a bribe or converted campaign funds to personal use.
Mr Gaetz has categorically denied all the allegations, which he has blamed on former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a longtime nemesis, though the probe began before McCarthy and Republicans took the majority in the House.
In 2023, the Justice Department ended a sex trafficking investigation with no charges against Mr Gaetz.
Having just won his fifth term representing much of the Florida Panhandle, Mr Gaetz, 42, has been a frequent defender of Trump on cable news.
He travelled to New York earlier this year when Mr Trump stood trial in his hush-money case and shared a photo of himself and other congressional Republicans standing behind Trump.
His caption echoed the language Trump once used to address the extremist Proud Boys: "Standing back, and standing by, Mr President."
At Trump's June debate with President Joe Biden, Mr Gaetz was front and centre in the spin room, talking up Trump's successes.
After Biden's exit from the race, Mr Gaetz was among those who helped Trump prepare for his subsequent debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, in which the former president made false claims about Haitian migrants eating people's pets and other animals — claims that Mr Gaetz, among others, had spread online.
Just hours before Mr Trump announced his nomination, Mr Gaetz wrote a post on X that echoed Mr Trump's frequent claims that he has been unfairly targeted by the justice system.
"We ought to have a full court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people," Mr Gaetz said. "And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I'm ready to get going!"
If confirmed as attorney general, Mr Gaetz would have oversight over both agencies.
Gaetz has been a staunch defender of Mr Trump but at times has irked fellow Republicans, including in last year's leadership debate in the House chamber.
In early 2023, Mr Gaetz was among a group of hard-right conservatives to oppose Mr McCarthy's bid for House speakership, forcing Mr McCarthy to wait through 15 ballots of voting before earning the spot. And it was Mr Gaetz who orchestrated the vote that ultimately led to Mr McCarthy's ouster.
McCarthy has accused Mr Gaetz of having him pushed out to stop the ethics complaint against him.
Gaetz' House resignation triggers a special election for his House seat — Florida's 1st Congressional district — which has been in Republican control for nearly 30 years.
Gaetz earned a degree from the William & Mary Law School in 2007, going on to work for a firm in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
The Florida bar briefly suspended his license in 2021 due to unpaid fees, but the association's website on Wednesday listed him as a member in good standing.
