The Hitchhiker's Guide to Gaetz's status in the House and the Ethics Committee report

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from the House last week. That is final. The precedent of the House is that once you bow out, it is done. So, Gaetz cannot revoke his letter of resignation last week. It declared he was stepping aside "effective immediately."

As reported earlier, Gaetz could serve in the new Congress. He was duly re-elected to his seat for the new Congress to be seated on Jan. 3. In his letter to the clerk of the House, Gaetz declared, "I do 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."

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However, Fox is told that Gaetz would have to inform the clerk of the House that he, in fact, does intend to serve in the new Congress – if he elects to do so. Gaetz has not signaled his future plans. That part of the Gaetz letter is not binding. 

Technically, the House Ethics Committee must wrap up its inquiry into Gaetz by the end of this Congress at 11:59:59 am EST on Jan. 3. However, there is precedent for the House Ethics Committee voting to carry over an inquiry from one Congress to another. So it’s not unheard of that this is a done deal.

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The committee still wants to finish its current work. However, if Gaetz is not going to serve in the new Congress and has withdrawn his nomination for attorney general, this likely diminishes the importance of publicly releasing the report of a former member. Yes, there may be damning information in the report, but the House usually does not release reports about former members – even though there is precedent for doing so. Moreover, the Senate Judiciary Committee isn’t interested in the report, now that Gaetz is not before them as the attorney general nominee.  

In addition, if Gaetz does elect to serve in the House, that would help the GOP with their numbers, with Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Michael Waltz, R-Minn. – and maybe more – leaving to join the Trump administration.