Then-U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, speaks at the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee. The U.S. House Ethics Committee released a report Monday finding "substantial evidence" of misconduct by Gaetz. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general in his second presidency, former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, paid for sex, including with a minor, used illegal drugs and sought to obstruct investigators, according to a U.S. House Committee on Ethics report released Monday.

The 42-page report, the culmination of a years-long committee investigation, found that Gaetz, who denies the allegations, “regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him,” used cocaine and ecstasy on multiple occasions between 2017 and 2019, accepted gifts including a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, and lied to the Department of State to obtain a passport for a woman he was sexually involved with and who he falsely claimed was his constituent.

“Representative Gaetz took advantage of the economic vulnerability of young women to lure them into sexual activity for which they received an average of a few hundred dollars after each encounter. Such behavior is not ‘generosity to ex-girlfriends,’ and it does not reflect creditably upon the House,” the report stated, noting the former congressman violated Florida prostitution and statutory rape laws.

Gaetz has not been criminally charged.

But the panel cited “substantial evidence” that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl whom they refer to as “Victim A.” Evidence included “credible testimony from Victim A herself, as well as multiple individuals corroborating the allegation.”

“Several of those witnesses have also testified under oath before a federal grand jury and in a civil litigation,” the report continued.

“Representative Gaetz denied the allegation but refused to testify under oath. He has publicly stated that Victim A ‘doesn’t exist’ and that he has not ‘had sex with a 17-year-old since I was 17.’ The Committee found that to be untrue and determined that there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz had sex with Victim A in July 2017, when she was 17 years old, and he was 35. Representative Gaetz’s actions were in violation of Florida’s statutory rape law,” according to the report.

Gaetz was chosen by Trump in November as his nominee to run the U.S. Department of Justice, even though Gaetz was previously the target of a department sex trafficking investigation that never yielded charges. Gaetz resigned from the House hours after Trump named him for the position.

After criticism from lawmakers and a spotlight on the House Ethics Committee’s probe, ongoing since April 2021, Gaetz bowed out of the running for attorney general.

Gaetz continues to deny the allegations outlined in the committee report and sued the panel Monday. In the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Gaetz calls the committee’s decision to release the report “unconstitutional” because it does not have jurisdiction over a private citizen.

“There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses,” Gaetz wrote on X Monday.

Gaetz declined an opportunity to present his version of events to the committee, refusing an invitation to sit for a voluntary interview, the report said.

Debate over release

The committee wrestled with the decision to release the report, blocking the decision after meeting on Nov. 20 before reversing course in a Dec. 10 vote.

Committee Chair Michael Guest said in a statement Monday that he opposed the report’s release.

“I believe, have publicly stated, and remain steadfast in the position that the House Committee on Ethics lost jurisdiction to release to the public any substantive work product regarding Mr. Gaetz after his resignation from the House on November 14, 2024,” Guest, a Mississippi Republican, said.

“While I do not challenge the Committee’s findings, I did not vote to support the release of the report and I take great exception that the majority deviated from the Committee’s well-established standards and voted to release a report on an individual no longer under the Committee’s jurisdiction, an action the Committee has not taken since 2006,” Guest’s statement continued.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi address the Republican National Convention on Aug. 25, 2020 in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday evening he plans to nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his newest pick for U.S. attorney general.

Trump’s announcement came just hours after another Floridian, former Congressman Matt Gaetz, withdrew as Trump’s expected nominee for the country’s top law enforcement job.

Gaetz was tapped to be nominated eight days ago, but met strong opposition from Republican senators following years of investigations for alleged drug use and payments for sex.

“Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families,” Trump wrote on social media. “Then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country. She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!”

Trump added that Bondi would “refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, cheered her nomination.

“Well done, Mr. President. Picking Pam Bondi for Attorney General is a grand slam, touchdown, hole in one, ace, hat trick, slam dunk, Olympic gold medal pick,” Graham wrote on social media. “She will be confirmed quickly because she deserves to be confirmed quickly.”

Women as attorneys general

Bondi, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, would become the third woman to serve as attorney general and the first during a Republican administration.

Janet Reno was the first woman to become attorney general, holding the role from 1993 to 2001 during the Clinton administration. Loretta E. Lynch became the second female attorney general, from 2015 to 2017 during the Obama administration.

Bondi is a longtime Trump ally. In 2016, during the Republican National Convention, she led the “lock her up” chants at then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Bondi defended the former president in his first impeachment trial and leads the legal arm of the pro-Trump think tank, America First Policy Institute. She also supported Trump’s baseless accusation that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. She was present to support Trump outside his hush money trial in New York earlier this year.

She served as Florida’s attorney general, from 2011 until 2019, and in that capacity led opposition to the 2010 health care law.

Bondi background

Bondi graduated from the University of Florida and earned her law degree at Stetson Law School in 1990. She was admitted to the Florida bar in 1991.

Bondi is registered as a lobbyist for Ballard Partners LLC in Washington, D.C., where she’s lobbied on behalf of the Florida Sheriffs Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, Inc. and Florida Sheriffs Risk Management Fund, according to congressional lobbying records.

The attorney general is responsible for overseeing the U.S. Justice Department and the 115,000 federal employees who work throughout its dozens of components.

The DOJ consists of numerous federal law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as U.S. attorneys. 

The Florida Democratic Party issued a statement in reaction to Trump’s announcement that underlined Bondi’s role in challenging the landmark health care law.

“Americans dodged a bullet with Gaetz’s withdrawal but Trump’s second choice for Attorney General is no better,” said state party Chair Nikki Fried. “Don’t forget — Pam Bondi tried to take healthcare away from millions of Floridians. She was the ring leader in the attempt to sue the Affordable Care Act out of existence and overturn the pre-existing conditions rule. She filed the original suit and was the lead plaintiff on the case seeking to dismantle affordable care. When Donald Trump says he’s going to end the ACA, believe him now that he’s nominated Pam Bondi to finish the job.”

Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz leaves a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 3, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)  

WASHINGTON — Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz announced Thursday he’s withdrawing as President-elect Donald Trump’s planned nominee for attorney general days after securing the appointment.

Gaetz’s path to Senate confirmation was highly unlikely following years of investigations about alleged drug usage and payments for sex, including with an underage girl. He submitted his resignation to Congress last week.

“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,” Gaetz wrote in a social media post. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.” 

Trump posted on social media afterward that he “greatly” appreciated “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,” Trump wrote. “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”

When asked if the Trump-Vance transition team had another nominee choice lined up, and whether they viewed the Gaetz withdrawal as a setback, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt did not provide details.

“President Trump remains committed to choosing a leader for the Department of Justice who will strongly defend the Constitution and end the weaponization of our justice system. President Trump will announce his new decision when it is made,” Leavitt told States Newsroom in an emailed statement. 

The House Ethics Committee voted along party lines Wednesday not to release its report on Gaetz, following more than three years of investigation. Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including the allegations that he had sex with a minor.

Meetings with senators

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, spent Wednesday shuffling Gaetz between meetings with Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would have held his confirmation hearing. Republicans will control the Senate in the new session of Congress beginning in January.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, wrote on social media that he respected Gaetz’s decision to withdraw his name from consideration as AG.

“I look forward to working with President Trump regarding future nominees to get this important job up and running,” Graham said.

GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, incoming Judiciary Committee chair, posted the following on X: “I respect Gaetz decision &look fwd 2helping PresTrump confirm qualified noms 2reform Dept of Justice &bring TRANSPARENCY/ACCOUNTABILITY Trump’s mission = DRAIN THE SWAMP& I would add get some1 who will answer my hundreds of outstanding oversight letters sitting at Biden DOJ/FBI.”

Grassley’s staff referred States Newsroom to the social media post when the outlet reached out for comment.

The offices of Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, fellow Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, declined to comment.

Gaetz’s future is unclear, given that he resigned from the U.S. House last week and notified the chamber he didn’t plan to take the oath of office for the upcoming 119th Congress.

He first joined the House in January 2017 and led efforts to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from that role last year, setting off a month-long stalemate within the House Republican Conference over who should lead the party.

The race to fill his empty seat in a special election has already attracted six candidates, mostly Republicans in a heavily conservative-leaning district.

Gaetz could jump into the race for his old seat, possibly winning a place back in the House of Representative next year following the special election.

He could also try to take the oath of office when the next session of Congress begins on Jan. 3, since he wrote in his resignation letter that he did “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.”

That would give the House Ethics Committee jurisdiction to complete its report on Gaetz and release it publicly. 

AG oversees Department of Justice

The attorney general is responsible for overseeing the Department of Justice, which includes the federal government’s top law enforcement agencies as well as prosecutors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Office for Victims of Crime, Office on Violence Against Women and U.S. Attorneys’ offices are among the 40 entities within the DOJ and its 115,000-person workforce.

Congress approved $37.52 billion for the Department of Justice in the most recent full-year spending bill.

Trump had two attorneys general during his first term as president. He first nominated former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, whom Trump later fired amid disputes, and then Bill Barr. 

Ashley Murray contributed to this story.

Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., left,  President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be attorney general, walks alongside Vice President-elect J.D. Vance as they arrive for meetings with senators at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 20, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Republicans on a U.S. House ethics panel Wednesday opposed the public release of a long-awaited report on Matt Gaetz, a former House member who is now the nominee for U.S. attorney general, according to the panel’s top Democrat, Susan Wild.

The outgoing Pennsylvania congresswoman told reporters that the evenly divided 10-member House Committee on Ethics took a vote but split along party lines. The report contains findings on whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations involving gifts and privileges.

President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement last week that he intends to nominate Gaetz to the nation’s highest law enforcement position set off a maelstrom on Capitol Hill over whether the ethics panel should release its report after Gaetz abruptly resigned his Florida seat, effectively halting the probe.

Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest said after the lengthy closed-door meeting that “there was not an agreement by the committee to release the report.”

Guest, a Mississippi Republican, told reporters the panel would meet again but did not provide details.

Wild vehemently disputed Guest’s statement to a group of reporters shortly afterward, calling it  “inaccurate.”

“I do not want the American public or anyone else to think that Mr. Guest’s characterization of what transpired today would be some sort of indication that the committee had unanimity or consensus on this issue,” Wild said.

Committee inquiry since 2021

Gaetz, who denies all allegations, has been under the committee probe since April 2021. The former congressman was also investigated by the Department of Justice for sex trafficking but was never charged.

ABC News reported Wednesday that it obtained financial records reviewed by the Ethics Committee showing that Gaetz paid two women, who were later witnesses in both the ethics and Justice Department probes, roughly $10,000 between 2017 and 2019.

An attorney for one woman who testified before the committee told NBC News Friday that his client witnessed Gaetz having sex with a minor at an Orlando house party.

House Democrats urged the ethics panel to release the report. Democratic Reps. Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Sean Casten of Illinois introduced resolutions on the House floor late Wednesday to force the panel to release its findings.

Several Democrats wrote Tuesday to Guest and Wild that “there is precedent for the House and Senate ethics committees to continue their investigations and release findings after a member has resigned in a scandal.”

“Given the seriousness of the charges against Representative Gaetz, withholding the findings of your investigation may jeopardize the Senate’s ability to provide fully informed, constitutionally required advice and consent regarding this nomination,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter led by Casten and signed by dozens of others.

The nomination for U.S. attorney general requires vetting by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and a favorable confirmation vote on the Senate floor. Republicans will gain control of the chamber in January.

Vance accompanies Gaetz to meetings

On the other side of the Capitol, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance ushered Gaetz to private meetings with Senate Republicans.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking member, released a statement Wednesday morning following his “very good meeting” with Gaetz.

“This process will not be a rubber stamp nor will it be driven by a lynch mob,” the South Carolina Republican said. “My record is clear. I tend to defer to presidential Cabinet choices unless the evidence suggests disqualification. I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true.”

A half hour before his meeting with Vance and Gaetz, GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told reporters the House should “follow the rules” regarding releasing the Gaetz ethics findings.

“Now I don’t know exactly what the House rules are. I’m told that if a member resigns, the report is not made public, but I also have read there have been exceptions to that. So the short answer is, I don’t know,” said Kennedy, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Having said that, the Judiciary Committee staff properly vets all of our nominees, and it’s been my experience in Washington that this place leaks like a wet paper bag,” Kennedy continued. “So I would assume that anything that’s out there will likely be made public. I’m not predicting that, but I’m not gonna faint with surprise if that happens.” 

President-elect Donald Trump attends the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 14, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. The annual event supports Grey Team, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing military suicide. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump continued his blitz of Cabinet and senior staff selections, closing the week Friday with the announcement that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a former presidential rival turned Trump surrogate, is his candidate to lead the federal department responsible for vast swaths of federal lands and U.S. relations with Native American tribes.

Burgum also will head up a brand new “National Energy Council,” Trump said.

In just 10 days since his decisive win, Trump from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida rapidly disclosed his picks to lead major U.S. policy areas, including relationships around the globe and the health and well-being of Americans at home.

The president-elect, who trounced Democratic nominee Kamala Harris on Nov. 5, has named roughly half of his intended nominees for the 15 executive departments that traditionally comprise a president’s Cabinet. If Trump follows through on his nominations, he’ll need the U.S. Senate’s approval for each.

That feat could be an uphill battle for Trump’s more controversial nominees — namely a Fox News host to oversee the entire U.S. military, a vaccine skeptic to administer health and science funding, and a recent Florida congressman who was investigated by the Department of Justice to wield the power of attorney general.

Trump has also drawn from his 2024 campaign staff, personal attorneys and pool of first-administration loyalists to fill several senior White House staff picks that do not require Senate approval.

Here are some of the president-elect’s latest choices:

• Burgum as secretary of the Interior. Trump announced Friday he will nominate Burgum, a former 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior. The $18 billion, 70,000-employee department oversees 11 bureaus that have a vast reach over relations with Native American tribes; control of hundreds of wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries; and the management of 245 million acres of public land, a third of the country’s minerals, and leasing for energy extraction from U.S. ocean waters. Trump said in a statement Friday that he will create a National Energy Council, with Burgum at the helm, “to oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE,” he wrote. Burgum, a wealthy software executive turned governor, has filed a handful of lawsuits against the agency, including a challenge to open more oil and gas leasing in his state, according to the North Dakota Monitor. He dropped his 2024 presidential bid in January and endorsed Trump.

• Former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia as secretary of Veterans Affairs. Trump announced Thursday his choice of the ex-congressman from Georgia to lead the agency that distributes health care to 9 million veterans at over 1,200 facilities annually. The department, which asked Congress for a $369.3 billion budget for next year, also oversees veterans disability benefits and manages national veterans cemeteries and memorials. Collins, a lawyer, pastor and member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve since 2002, served in the U.S. House from 2013 to 2021, according to his congressional biography.

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services. The president-elect tapped Kennedy Jr. Thursday as his choice to lead the massive 80,000-employee Department of Health and Human Services that projects mandatory spending — think Medicare and Medicaid — will reach $1.7 trillion in 2025, and discretionary spending at $130.7 billion. Also under the huge HHS umbrella are the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Kennedy Jr., a former 2024 presidential hopeful who dropped out and endorsed Trump, is well known for his spreading of vaccine misinformation. The former environmental lawyer and son of the late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy also made headlines during the 2024 race for admitting he dumped a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park nearly a decade ago, among other unusual revelations.

• Trump attorney D. John Sauer as solicitor general of the United States. In his last staffing announcement Thursday, Trump said he intends to nominate his defense attorney in his federal election interference case to be the U.S. Justice Department’s litigator before the U.S. Supreme Court. Sauer successfully argued Trump’s presidential immunity case before the Supreme Court in April. Sauer made headlines at Trump’s federal January appeal hearing for appearing to argue that a president’s order for SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival would be covered under presidential immunity. Sauer, Missouri’s former solicitor general, was among those who filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Texas’ lawsuit to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

• Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Trump dropped a bombshell Wednesday afternoon when he revealed he will nominate the now-ex-lawmaker Gaetz of Florida as attorney general. Gaetz resigned from the U.S. House hours after Trump’s announcement, getting ahead of an anticipated ethics report on his alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use that could have been released Friday, according to several news outlets. Politico reported Friday that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., does not want the report released, despite pressure from some in his own party. Gaetz, who if confirmed by the Senate would be the nation’s top law enforcement officer, was investigated by the Justice Department for two years, beginning under Trump’s first administration, for possible sex trafficking. The probe was dropped last year, as has been widely reported. Trump campaigned on meting out retribution from the Justice Department for his political foes following two federal investigations into his alleged stockpiling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, and his alleged subversion of the 2020 presidential election. Gaetz is a staunch Trump ally and was among the nearly 140 House Republicans who objected to the 2020 election results. Trump has also tapped his personal criminal defense lawyer Todd Blanche to serve as deputy attorney general.

Within the past seven days, Trump also announced his plans to nominate former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Jay Clayton as a U.S. attorney, former Democratic Congresswoman-turned-Republican Tulsi Gabbard as the director of national intelligence, Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of State, Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security chief, GOP Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser, former head of national intelligence John Ratcliffe as CIA director, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan as “border czar,” former Trump White House adviser and immigration policy architect Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff for policy, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, former Congressman Lee Zeldin as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, and his 2024 campaign manager, Susie Wiles as his chief of staff. 

The president-elect made waves as well when declaring this past week that billionaire campaign donor Elon Musk and former presidential hopeful, now a staunch Trump supporter, Vivek Ramaswamy will together run an ambiguous entity titled the Department of Government Efficiency. Shortened to DOGE, it is still unclear how the organization would operate and interact with the federal government.

This article has been updated to reflect the correct title for Jay Clayton.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is photographed inside the Rayburn House Office Building Feb. 27, 2019.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he intends to nominate U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz as the next attorney general of the United States, an unexpected pick as the Florida Republican remains the subject of a congressional ethics investigation for alleged sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Wednesday night at a GOP press conference following leadership elections that Gaetz has already submitted a letter of resignation from the House.

“I think out of deference to us, he issued his resignation letter effective immediately of Congress,” Johnson said. “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.’”

Florida state law, Johnson said, provides an eight-week time frame for the governor to fill a vacancy. He’s already placed a call to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is in Italy, to ask him to begin that timeline.

“And if we start the clock now, if you do the math, we may be able to fill that seat as early as January 3, when we take the new oath of office for the new Congress,” Johnson said.  “So Matt would have done us a great service by making that decision, as he did on the fly. And so we’re grateful for that.”

The position of attorney general requires U.S. Senate approval, and if confirmed, the four-term congressman and Trump ally would lead the massive U.S. Justice Department that oversees more than 40 component organizations and 115,000 employees, according to the department.

The announcement comes as U.S. special counsel Jack Smith winds down two federal investigations of Trump — one, alleging Trump improperly stored classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office, and the other stemming from his alleged scheme to subvert the 2020 presidential election. Justice Department memos from 1973 and 2000 concluded that criminally prosecuting a sitting president would impair the leader’s capacity to carry out the office’s functions.

Trump first announced his decision to choose Gaetz on social media, describing the congressman as “a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice.”

Revealing the information on Truth Social roughly 10 minutes before his transition team sent an official statement, the president-elect wrote that Gaetz “will root out the systemic corruption at DOJ, and return the Department to its true mission of fighting Crime, and upholding our Democracy and Constitution. We must have Honesty, Integrity, and Transparency at DOJ. Under Matt’s leadership, all Americans will be proud of the Department of Justice once again.” Trump routinely writes on social media in mixed capitalization.

Gaetz quickly published on the social media platform X that, “It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!”

Ethics probe

The House Committee on Ethics revealed in June that it would continue pursuing allegations in its ongoing investigation of Gaetz, including the possibility the lawmaker may have “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.”

Gaetz has “categorically denied all of the allegations before the Committee,” according to the committee’s June update on the matter.

The committee’s probe began in April 2021 and originally included allegations that the lawmaker “shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.” The committee announced in June that it was no longer pursuing those specific accusations.

As of June, the panel had spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas, and reviewed thousands of pages of documents regarding the Gaetz probe.

Rep. Michael Guest, chair of the House Ethics Committee, told reporters Wednesday that if Gaetz is confirmed by the Senate as attorney general, his committee will no longer have jurisdiction over the probe.

“Once we lose jurisdiction, there would not be a report that would be issued,” said Guest, a Mississippi Republican elected to Congress in 2019. “That’s not unique to this case, we have that every new Congress, where there are members who are under ethics investigation, who either choose not to run again, in some instances, or they resign or they lose reelection.”

“We’re not going to rush this investigation because of the appointment. And so we’re going to again follow the rules and the procedures that we set in place.”

The ethics investigation is expected to wrap up following Gaetz’s resignation, though Punchbowl News reported that the panel was set to release a “highly damaging” report in the days ahead

Lawmakers taken aback

Senators on Capitol Hill, who will have to vet and possibly vote to confirm Gaetz, expressed surprise at Trump’s announcement.

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that she expected to consider another option at some point.

“I don’t think he’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Murkowski said. “We need to have a serious attorney general and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious.”

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she was shocked when she heard the news. She said that she and her colleagues will want to question Gaetz.

“Obviously, the president has the right to nominate whomever he wishes. But I’m certain that there will be a lot of questions,” Collins, a Republican, said.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he doesn’t know Gaetz “other than his public persona,” but said Gaetz will face questions and possibly challenges getting the votes needed for Senate confirmation.

“I’m sure we’ll have a lot of questions, and I’m sure all that stuff will come out,” Cornyn said. “And then it’s a question of, can he get 51 votes?”

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said that Republicans were the ones to question about whether they’d support Gaetz’s nomination, since Democrats were unlikely to do so.

“Talk to my colleagues, like, to see who’s gonna vote for, like, a jerk-off like that,” Fetterman said.

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said Gaetz “has his work cut out for him,” and that it will be up to the Judiciary Committee to decide whether to confirm him to the post.

Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, who Trump on Wednesday nominated as secretary of State, said that he was supportive of the president-elect’s pick.

“I’ve known Matt for a long time, I think he would do a good job,” Rubio said, adding that he wouldn’t comment further about the recent ethics complaints against Gaetz.

Democrats who sit on the Judiciary Committee that would be tasked with holding a nomination hearing for Gaetz, such as Cory Booker of New Jersey and Jon Ossoff of Georgia, declined to comment on the news.

“I’m literally just walking out of a meeting and hearing this,” Booker said. “Give me a minute.”

Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson said he honestly doesn’t “know (Gaetz) that well or know his professional qualifications.”

“I know of his skill in questioning witnesses in the House,” Johnson said. “I really don’t know his legal background that much. I’ve never really spent much time with him, other than a couple times in different meetings, so I just don’t know him that well.”

Rep. Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, issued a strong rebuke of Trump’s choice of Gaetz for the position.

“The Attorney General of the United States must have strong judgement, moral character, and a deep respect for the law. As almost all members of Congress know, Matt Gaetz has none of those things. What he does have is unconditional loyalty to Donald Trump and a willingness to weaponize the government against his political allies— an affinity that he and the president-elect share,” Himes, a Connecticut Democrat, said in a statement.

Ariana Figueroa and Shauneen Miranda contributed to this report.