Matt Gaetz says he’s not returning to Congress next year

(CNN) — Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general on Thursday, said Friday he will not be returning to Congress next year.

“I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” he told Charlie Kirk in an interview.

Gaetz, first elected in 2016, had resigned from the House earlier this month after Trump selected him to lead the Department of Justice and before the House Ethics Committee could release a report about its investigation into him, including alleged sexual misconduct, which he has denied. The fate of the report — and whether it would be released with him no longer in Congress — had resulted in an animated debate on Capitol Hill about whether he could be confirmed.

In the wake of Gaetz’s withdrawal as Trump’s pick, senior congressional leaders in both parties had been scrambling to determine if Gaetz could return to the House next year after winning reelection this fall.

“There are a number of fantastic Floridians who’ve stepped up to run for my seat, people who have inspired with their heroism, with their public service. And I’m actually excited to see Northwest Florida go to new heights and have great representation,” Gaetz told Kirk.

He added: “I’m going to be fighting for President Trump. I’m going to be doing whatever he asks of me, as I always have. But I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress.”

The former congressman, who has sat in on a number of transition meetings and given input, said he would continue to be part of staffing the next Trump administration.

He also praised Trump’s subsequent choice for attorney general, which the president-elect announced just hours after Gaetz withdrew his name — former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“I am so excited about where this transition stands, and I know there are people disappointed that I won’t be the next attorney general, but you have to understand this is the political process, and sometimes the path you’re on is one that takes you to a different place, and it could be a glorious place,” Gaetz told Kirk.

“My good friend Pam Bondi is going to be a phenomenal attorney general for Donald Trump. She has the legal acumen. She hates criminals. She is a bright legal mind and a fellow Floridian.”

Gaetz — who said in his Thursday announcement that his selection “was unfairly becoming a distraction” — said that “Bondi’s confirmation won’t have some of the sharp edges that mine would have.”

Gaetz claimed he had momentum with senators, but that he was having to do “two jobs at one time” while meeting with them on Capitol Hill.

“I had a full-time job explaining to senators that maybe a tweet I sent about them was rash and not reflective of how I would serve as attorney general. And at the same time, I was having to build out the Department of Justice with the right human talent, the right policy infrastructure, and Pam Bondi’s confirmation won’t have some of the sharp edges that mine would have.”

Gaetz, whose bombastic political tactics had alienated many people within his own party, downplayed the allegations against him in the House Ethics report and claimed they were part of a smear campaign.

“There is a play that is run in Washington when they’re trying to smear somebody and they go and dredge up false, years old allegations of the most salacious and click bait-y flavor possible,” Gaetz told Kirk.

Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations investigated by the Justice Department and the committee, including the claim that he had sex with a woman in 2017 when she was a minor.

CNN reported Thursday, just before Gaetz withdrew from consideration as attorney general, that sources familiar with her testimony said the woman told the ethics committee she had two sexual encounters with Gaetz at one 2017 party, when she was 17 years old. She testified that the second sexual encounter, which had not previously been reported, included another adult woman. She also testified to both sexual encounters in a civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit, sources said.

Gaetz was well-known on Capitol Hill for his role in ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. And on Thursday, he blamed the California Republican for his demise.

“I was dealing with a politically motivated body. They didn’t like me because of what I did to Kevin McCarthy,” Gaetz said. “And they had an axe to grind. So that was going to serve as at least enough of a basis to delay my confirmation as attorney general.”

CNN’s Eric Brander contributed to this report.

---

This story has been updated with additional information.