JUST IN: Matt Gaetz Provides Major Update On His Political Future

Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who recently resigned from Congress after he was nominated to serve as President-elect Trump’s attorney general, has teased a run for governor of Florida after withdrawing his name from the attorney general race.

Gaetz, 42, posted a GIF of a waving Florida flag in an X post on Saturday, teasing that he is open to a gubernatorial bid. The post was made in response to former Florida State Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who stated that Gaetz “will be the next Governor of the State of Florida.”

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, of which Gaetz was a member throughout his tenure in the House — will be termed out in 2022. DeSantis cruised to re-election in 2022 and has widely been credited with turning what was viewed as a swing state in 2016 into a Republican stronghold.

Gaetz resigned from the 118th Congress a day after Trump selected him for attorney general, though he had left the door open to serving in the 119th Congress in January. He has also been floated as a possible contender to fill the soon-to-be-open Senate seat occupied by Marco Rubio, who is Trump’s nominee for secretary of state.

The Florida lawmaker has confirmed that he will not be returning to Congress, however, prompting the Florida Secretary of State’s office to schedule a special election for April. A report from the JP — a notoriously anti-Trump publication — has further claimed that Gaetz is not being considered for the Senate vacancy.

If Gaetz does indeed run for governor of the Sunshine State, he will likely be facing a crowded field. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has long been viewed as a candidate for the position, as has Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), a colleague of Gaetz’s in the Freedom Caucus, has also expressed interest in running for the seat.

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