Congress erupts into applause as clerk announces Matt Gaetz will not serve in 119th Congress

Even though he was reelected in November, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) resigned from Congress to pursue his short-lived bid to be attorney general. But even his former Republican colleagues don't appear to be missing him.

That's according to a recent video in which the 119th Congress — which will serve between 2025 and 2027 — was in the early process of being sworn in. Earlier Friday afternoon, House Clerk Kevin McCumber announced that Congress had received official communication from the Florida Republican that he was not returning to the House of Representatives. Members could be heard loudly cheering and applauding as the announcement was read.

"The clerk is in receipt of a letter from the honorable Matt Gaetz from the state of Florida, indicating that he will not serve in the House in the 119th Congress," McCumber said, as members applauded. "Without objection, the letters relating to his resignation will be printed in the record."

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Gaetz had reportedly resigned in order to speed aling the special election process to allow Governor Ron DeSantis to quickly fill the seat for the vacant 1st Congressional District, which encompasses the Florida panhandle. However, his resignation also came on the heels of the House Committee on Ethics' pending release of a report detailing multiple scandalous allegations of paying for sex with a minor and illegal drug use.

Because the Ethics Committee only has jurisdiction over sitting members, it was believed that Gaetz's resignation would have allowed the Republican-controlled committee to bury the report. However, the report was eventually made public after weeks of sustained public pressure. Despite the details of the allegations — which include Gaetz reportedly paying a teenage girl for sex despite her just having completed her junior year of high school — the DOJ has elected to not charge him with crimes.

President-elect Donald Trump tapped Gaetz to lead the Department of Justice, though Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration after just eight days when it became clear that he wouldn't have enough votes in the Republican-controlled Senate to be confirmed. He's now launching his own show on the far-right One America News Network.

Watch the video of McCumber's announcement below, or by clicking this link.

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