Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, said former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz withdrawing his nomination by president-elect Donald Trump to serve as U.S. Attorney General signals his future ambitions to run in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial election.
On Thursday, Gaetz announced that he withdrew his name from consideration to serve as attorney general – just one day after meeting with a group of U.S. senators alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance who were not committed to confirming the former Florida congressman as attorney general.
“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many,” Gaetz said on Thursday.
I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance…
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 21, 2024
“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General,” Gaetz added.
Gulbransen, noting how he believed Gaetz “was never going to get confirmed” as attorney general, said the former Florida congressman is “probably going to run for governor of Florida” in the 2026 gubernatorial race.
“I think that’s probably what this was about. I think it was putting him in a better position,” Gulbransen said on Thursday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“He was very diplomatic and what he said in his statement clearly signals to me that he is trying for another political career. I do think we’ll see an announcement of him running for governor at some point in time,” Gulbransen added.
Gulbransen said he believes Gaetz “ostensibly” declared his intent to run for governor when he led the effort to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023.
“When [Gaetz] led the effort to remove McCarthy, that was the day that he declared his run for governor ostensibly. I don’t think Matt Gaetz ever intended to be the attorney general. I certainly don’t think that,” Gulbransen said.
Looking forward to Trump’s next nomination for attorney general, Gulbransen said individuals including Jeff Clark, former acting assistant attorney general during the Trump administration, and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti would be remarkable picks to lead the U.S. Department of Justice.
Ultimately, Gulbransen said he believes Trump’s next pick will be an individual who is capable of “taking a wrecking ball” to the DOJ.
“I think it will be a person who will come in there and just upend [the DOJ],” Gulbransen said.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Matt Gaetz” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
