By Stephen Macaulay
On January 3, 2025, the 118th Congress comes to an end and the 119th session begins.
Matt Gaetz resigned from the 118th Congress. Max Gaetz was reelected to Florida’s 1st District with an impressive 66% of the vote.
Does Matt Gaetz enter the 119th session?
The man, who has been selected by President-elect Donald Trump to be attorney general, may actually be more clever than his critics give him credit for.
Gaetz was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
The investigation looked into an array of bad behavior, including:
- Sexual misconduct
- Illegal drug use
- Acceptance of improper gifts
The bipartisan Ethics Committee also had the question of whether the congressman was obstructing the investigation into his conduct.
Now there are those who look at Gaetz’s educational background and experience and think they are both lacking for the role that Trump wants him to play in the forthcoming administration.
Gaetz received his undergraduate degree from Florida State in Interdisciplinary Social Science, which certainly sounds like something that the Libs would have come up with. He earned his J.D. from the William & Mary Law School* (is alum former Chief Justice John Marshall rolling around in his grave at the Shockoe Hill Cemetery?).
As for his work experience, with the exception of a couple years of private practice in Florida, he has been a creature of the government, both the Florida House and the US House. Isn’t a career politician the sort of thing that is characteristic of The Swamp?
But back to Gaetz’s cleverness.
The Ethics Committee of the 118th Congress no longer has any authority over Gaetz because he is no longer in Congress. Even the work that they’ve accomplished could simply disappear (as Trump’s legal issues will, no matter who becomes his A.G.).
So if Gaetz returns to Washington for the 119th session, it is possible that the Ethics Committee’s clock is set back to zero.
This means that he will have a job as the Senate considers whether to confirm him as the 87th Attorney General and by the time that process is complete, the Ethics Committee will probably still be looking for its office supplies.
And you may have thought that Matt Gaetz was ingenious only when it comes to combing his hair.
*The William & Mary Law School is actually the oldest law school in the U.S.; it was established by and large because of Thomas Jefferson. Without being an educationalist about this, it is interesting to compare Gaetz’s education with those of the last 10 U.S. attorneys general (William Barr is both number 2 and number 10):
- Merrick Garland. Undergrad: Harvard; Law school: Harvard
- William Barr: Columbia; George Washington University
- Jeff Sessions: Huntingdon College; University of Alabama
- Loretta Lynch: Harvard; Harvard
- Eric Holder: Columbia; Columbia
- Michael Mukasey: Columbia; Yale
- Alberto Gonzales: Rice; Harvard
- John Ashcroft: Yale; University of Chicago
- Janet Reno: Cornell; Harvard
And in terms of experience, before they became Attorney General:
- Garland: judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- Barr: Deputy Attorney General before his firsts term; corporate legal (e.g., Verizon) before second
- Sessions: US Senator; had been Alabama Attorney General and US Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama
- Lynch: US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York
- Holder: Deputy Attorney General
- Mukasey: judge on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Gonzales: White House Counsel
- Ashcroft: US Senator; had been governor of Missouri and Missouri Attorney General
- Reno: State Attorney for Miami-Dade County, Florida
Gaetz’s former firm, which is now known as AnchorsGordon, lists its practice areas as: Complex Business and Commercial Litigation; Business and Corporate Law; Real Estate Litigation; Community Association Law; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Government Affairs and Public Records; Labor and Employment Law. And now one of its alum may head the Department of Justice.