Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee for legal professional basic forward of a Home ethics committee’s launch. report who accused him of “repeatedly” paying for intercourse and utilizing medication, stated he was “beginning to consider working for governor” subsequent yr in Florida.
The race for the open seat in Mr. Trump’s adopted state is predicted to attract appreciable curiosity subsequent yr as a result of Gov. Ron DeSantis, elected in 2018 and 2022, is term-limited.
“I’ve a compelling imaginative and prescient for the state,” stated Mr. Gaetz, a far-right provocateur. told the Tampa Bay Times in a report launched Tuesday.
In a phone interview with The New York Instances on Wednesday, Mr. Gaetz stated that he had spoken to Mr. Trump a few attainable run for governor and that he “is aware of that I’ve that ambition.” He declined to elaborate on their dialog, saying solely that the president-elect had shared his recommendation with him and that he anticipated a number of different of Mr. Trump’s allies to vie for the place.
Requests for remark had been additionally directed to Mr. Trump’s aides.
Mr. Gaetz, 42 years outdated, on the way to a fifth term in his Republican Home district, safely, within the Florida panhandle, on November 5. However he resigned his seat on November 13, shortly after Mr. Trump selected him as legal professional basic, attempting to short-circuit the discharge of a report. Ethics committee report which concluded he had engaged in sexual misconduct and used illicit medication, allegations he denied.
He additionally filed a last-minute lawsuit in federal courtroom to attempt to cease the report from being launched, however his efforts failed.
The panel discovered that no less than from 2017 to 2020, Mr. Gaetz “repeatedly paid ladies to interact in sexual exercise with him.” The report stated that in 2017, Mr. Gaetz “engaged in sexual exercise with a 17-year-old woman,” who was paid.
From 2017 to 2019, the report stated, Mr. Gaetz used or possessed unlawful medication, together with cocaine and ecstasy, “on a number of events,” and accepted lavish items, together with transportation and lodging within the Bahamas, in extra of approved portions.
Requested Wednesday whether or not he thought the ethics committee report would damage him in a gubernatorial race, Mr. Gaetz scoffed on the thought.
“These lies have been round me for years,” he stated.
After withdraw as Mr. Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney General — first main setback for the president-elect throughout his transition — Mr. Gaetz was employed as host of a weekly prime-time far-right present One America News Network.
In his remarks to the Tampa Bay Instances, Mr. Gaetz instructed he might assist stabilize a insurance crisis that hit Florida, a state of affairs that was exacerbated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and which shook each the trade and those that depend on its media protection.
“I perceive how you can clear up the insurance coverage drawback, and it is not about handing over the keys to the state to the insurance coverage trade,” he stated. “If I run, I’d be essentially the most pro-consumer candidate on the Republican facet.”
Mr. Gaetz’s curiosity within the governor’s workplace got here simply days after members of the 119th Congress had been sworn in on Capitol Hill, the place Mr. Gaetz was recognized for his daring political fashion in attempting to advance the agenda of Mr. Trump.
The gubernatorial race in Florida, as soon as a battleground state that leaned towards Republicans, is likely one of the highest-profile contests on the 2026 election calendar.
