Matt Gaetz Floats Senate Run While Calling Out GOP Lawmakers Who Opposed Him for AG

Former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz said Sunday morning he might run for the Senate seat Marco Rubio will soon vacate in order to be a thorn in the side of lawmakers who opposed his confirmation for attorney general.

Rubio will leave the Senate in the coming weeks to become President-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of state. Gaetz was nominated by Trump to run the Justice Department but withdrew his name after it had become apparent he would not have the votes for confirmation.

Gaetz often fought with members of his own party and was the subject of a House ethics investigation over, among other allegations, sexual improprieties with minors.

In Phoneix on Sunday morning at Turning Point USA’s AmFest 2024 conference, Gaetz told a crowd of conservatives he did not know what he would do next after resigning from the House. He was clear he had a few ideas, but first laid into GOP senators who opposed his AG nomination.

“Republican senators, we, the voters of this movement, will not accept the answer that you voted for Joe Biden’s nominees like Lloyd Austin but refuse Trump’s,” he said. Gaetz continued:

Many have asked which perch I will be fighting from next. And some of you throughout this conference have even given me a few suggestions. My fellow Floridians have asked me to eye the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee. Maybe special counsel to go after the insider trading for my former colleagues in Congress. It seems I may not have had enough support in the United States Senate. Maybe I’ll just run for Marco Rubio’s vacant seat in the United States Senate.

Gaetz’s comments were met with applause.

The former congresswoman has denied he did anything illegal while serving in the House. On allegations he might have committed a crime, Gaetz defended himself this past week.

“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life,” he said. “I live a different life now.”

Watch above via Right Side Broadcasting Network on YouTube.