The House Ethics Committee is meeting this Wednesday after previously postponing a meeting when the panel was expected to discuss its investigation of now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Fox News has learned.
Lawmakers were expected to vote last Friday on whether to release the committee’s report into Gaetz before that meeting was canceled without explanation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters that Gaetz had resigned from Congress effective immediately on Wednesday, hours after he was tapped to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general.
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., told reporters after Gaetz’s nomination that his panel would lose jurisdiction over the Florida Republican if he left Congress.
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Rep. Matt Gaetz is seen in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2024 ahead of the president’s State of the Union address. (Aaron Schwartz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Once the investigation is complete, then a report will be issued, assuming that at that time, that Mr. Gaetz is still a member of Congress. If Mr. Gaetz were to resign because he is taking a position with the administration as the attorney general, then the Ethics Committee loses jurisdiction at that point,” Guest said before news of Gaetz leaving.
“Once we lose jurisdiction, there would not be a report that would be issued. That’s not unique to this case.”
The committee’s probe was put to an end after Gaetz’s resignation.
However, several Republicans have already said the report should be released if Gaetz were to go through the attorney general vetting process, including GOP senators whose support would be critical to Gaetz being confirmed.
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Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) walks out of the Senate Chamber after he and other impeachment managers delivered the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Capitol Hill on April 16, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gaetz, which began in 2021, stems from accusations of illicit drug use and sex with a minor.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), which Gaetz has been tapped to lead, also previously investigated the matter but closed that probe with no charges filed.
Gaetz himself has denied any wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for the House Ethics Committee declined to comment on the new Wednesday meeting, which was first reported by CNN.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson smiles as President-elect Donald Trump attends a meeting with House Republicans in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Allison Robbert/Pool via AP)
Johnson lent his voice to the increasingly heated debate on Friday, telling reporters he did not believe the report should be released.
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“The Speaker of the House is not involved with those things. I am reacting to media reports that a report is currently in some draft form and was going to be released on what is now a former member of the House. I do not believe that that is an appropriate thing,” the house speaker said.
“That would open up Pandora’s box and I don’t think that’s a healthy thing for the institution, so that’s my position.”
Fox News Digital reached out to a Gaetz spokesperson for comment.
Fox News’ Daniel Scully contributed to this report.
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