Representative Matt Gaetz‘s resignation from the House ends the House Ethics Committee’s long-running probe into his alleged misconduct—but there is a chance that a report outlining the investigation’s findings could still be published.
Gaetz resigned on Wednesday, shortly after President-elect Donald Trump announced the Florida Republican as his nominee for attorney general. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday night that Gaetz, a longtime Trump ally, had resigned “effective immediately.”
“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,” Gaetz wrote in his resignation letter, according to CBS News.
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The House Ethics Committee had been investigating allegations that Gaetz was part of a scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. In June, the committee said it was investigating whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing.
Prior to Gaetz’s resignation, Representative Michael Guest, the Republican chairman of the committee, told reporters that the committee would close its case if Gaetz is confirmed by the Senate as attorney general and resigns from Congress as the panel only has jurisdiction over sitting members of Congress.
Newsweek has contacted Gaetz and Guest for comment via email to their respective offices outside of business hours.
Punchbowl News reported that Gaetz’s resignation came two days before the committee had been scheduled to vote on releasing a “highly damaging” report based on their investigation, citing multiple sources familiar with the investigation. CNN confirmed the vote’s timing, noting that the report was expected to be released as soon as Friday.
The bipartisan committee had a narrow window for releasing the findings of the investigation, according to CNN, because it doesn’t allow reports to be released close to an election, meaning it could not release the report around the time of Florida’s August primary or November’s general election.
It is now unclear if the committee will proceed with the vote on releasing the report.
However, the report could still be published if a majority of the committee agrees to it, as The Washington Post‘s Jacqueline Alemany noted, but that would require the support of at least one of the five Republicans on the 10-member committee.
As well as Guest, the Republicans on the panel are Representatives David Joyce, John Rutherford, Andrew Garbarino, and Michelle Fischbach. They have been contacted for comment via email.
The Democratic representatives on the committee are Ranking Member Susan Wild, Veronica Escobar, Mark DeSaulnier, Deborah Ross, and Glenn Ivey.
Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law scholar and law professor at Georgia State University, said on X (formerly Twitter) that the committee releasing the report after Goetz’s resignation would be “a sharp break” from tradition.
“I think I’m of the strong opinion that the tradition of not releasing ethics investigation reports if a member resigns from Congress creates a positive incentive structure for people to leave if the situation so warrants. I would not blame anyone for wanting to preserve that,” Kreis wrote in another post.
“That doesn’t mean, however, members with knowledge should not tell senators about it or keep quiet given there is a pending nomination. I think there’s a way to not disturb regular order without abdicating the duty to the public.”
Newsweek has contacted Kreis for further comment via email.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
