Republican representative from Florida Matt Gaetz has submitted his resignation from US congress, effective immediately, launching an eight-week clock to fill his seat, Speaker Mike Johnson has said.
US President-elect Donald Trump told Mr Johnson on Wednesday that he would be tapping Mr Gaetz for his administration as attorney general, reducing Mr Johnson’s slim majority even further.
It also may bring a long-running ethics investigation into the Florida congressman to an end.
Mr Johnson framed the stunning move by Mr Gaetz to resign early and before confirmation as a way to help the majority fill his vacancy much quicker than if he were to wait until his Senate confirmation as attorney general.
But the decision and timing he chose to immediately step down raise concerns about the impending, years-long ethics probe into the Florida Republican, which was expected by many, including Mr Gaetz, to be wrapped up by the end of the year.
By stepping down, the bipartisan panel no longer has jurisdiction over Mr Gaetz, deeming the probe and the subsequent report effectively dead.
Representative Michael Guest, the Republican chair for the House Ethics Committee, told AP that Mr Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general does not change the panel’s ongoing probe into the congressman over alleged sex trafficking, sexual misconduct and drug use.
But if Mr Gaetz is confirmed for the cabinet position, the committee will no longer have jurisdiction to continue its probe or release its report.
“Once we lose jurisdiction, there would not be a report that would be issued,” Guest said. “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.”
He added: “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.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel