CONTROVERSIAL REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE Matt Gaetz resigned from the US Congress yesterday, almost immediately after incoming US president Donald Trump nominated him to become Attorney General of his new administration.

His resignation launched an eight-week timeline to fill his seat, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson. Yesterday, Republicans secured a majority in the House, completing a clean sweep against the Democrats. But the majority is on a knife-edge.

Gaetz, who is fiercely loyal to Donald Trump, was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee in relation to alleged sex trafficking, sexual misconduct and drug use.

However, by stepping down the bipartisan panel no longer has jurisdiction over Gaetz, deeming the probe and the subsequent report effectively dead.

In a statement on social media yesterday, Trump announced Gaetz as his pick for AG, a hugely important role that would see him become the top legal official in the country.

“Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System,” Trump posted.

“Matt will end Weaponized Government… and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.”

Trump has called for retribution against many perceived political foes whom he baselessly accuses of wielding the might of the Justice Department against him in politically motivated prosecutions.

Democrats fear that Gaetz (42) will help him weaponize the department to launch exactly those types of “show trial” prosecutions.

As attorney general, Gaetz would drive all aspects of the work of the Justice Department, which for years has carried out an investigation into sex trafficking and obstruction of justice allegations involving him.

Gaetz, who denies all wrongdoing, was told last year that there would be no charges against him, but he remains the subject of the House ethics investigation.

Police began looking at Gaetz as they were investigating his friend, former tax collector Joel Greenberg, who was sentenced in 2022 to a prison term of 11 years after admitting to sex trafficking a minor and other charges.

In September, Gaetz said in a statement he would no longer help congressional investigators, accusing them of leading a “political payback exercise” and calling the probe “uncomfortably nosy.”

Republican and Democratic senators immediately voiced doubts that Gaetz’s nomination would survive the confirmation process, which can involve intense questioning during difficult, fraught hearings.

Gaetz will likely only be able to lose three Republicans and still get the green light from the Senate.

CNN, citing unnamed sources reported that House Republicans were meeting behind closed doors when news of Gaetz’s nomination emerged – prompting “an audible gasp from the members in the room.”

Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ernst said Gaetz would have “his work cut out for him,” according to Scripps News, which also reported that the party’s Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said: “Do you think he’s a serious candidate? Not as far as I’m concerned.”

A third senator from the party’s political middle, Susan Collins, told reporters she was “shocked” by the announcement.

“That shows why the advice and consent process is so important, and I’m sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing.”

With reporting from PA and Cormac Fitzgerald