Former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz's wife shared a five-word message on social media after he announced he was withdrawing his name from consideration to be the next U.S. attorney general.
Ginger Gaetz also shared a photo of her husband and herself on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, where he served as a congressman from 2017 through November 2024. The pair married in 2020.
"The end of an era," Ginger Gaetz posted on X, formerly Twitter, minutes after her husband said he would withdraw from consideration.
Gaetz's decision came one week after President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination. Gaetz resigned from Congress shortly after Trump's announcement.
The former representative said he met with senators on Wednesday, posting on X that: "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."
In recent days, his wife has shown ongoing support for his nomination, resharing posts on Capitol Hill and spending time there herself with lawmakers and their spouses.
The nomination proved controversial due to a hotly anticipated report on a House Ethics Committee investigation into alleged sexual abuse and drug use, which is yet to be released. Gaetz has vehemently denied that he did anything improper and blames the accusations on a smear campaign.
It was not immediately clear Thursday afternoon what Gaetz's political future would be or whether the withdrawal was truly the "end of an era."
Speaker Mike Johnson has not confirmed Gaetz's resignation from the House of Representatives.
He said the ethics report did not necessarily need to be released if Gaetz was no longer a sitting member. If Gaetz does return to the House, then it would mean the report would almost certainly be released.
Another path forward could be for Gaetz to replace Marco Rubio as Florida senator if the latter is confirmed as U.S. secretary of state under discretionary powers for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Trump posted to Truth Social Thursday afternoon, "Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!"
Now that Gaetz is out of the running, betting has begun on who could take his place as the nominee for attorney general.
Figures from Polymarket put Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with a 79 percent chance of being named the next U.S. AG. Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Jay Clayton follows him at 51 percent, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche at 32 percent, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey at 21 percent, and Utah Senator Mike Lee at 15 percent.
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Dan Gooding
Dan Gooding is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. His focus is reporting on immigration and border security. ...
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