As Speaker Mike Johnson labors to lock down enough support to be re-elected to his post, every vote is critical. And there is speculation that former Representative Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who engineered the ouster of Mr. Johnson’s predecessor, could play a role in the outcome this time as well.
Mr. Gaetz resigned his seat in December after President-elect Donald J. Trump named him as his choice for attorney general. At the time, Mr. Gaetz said he did not plan to be sworn in to the new Congress, despite having been re-elected to another two-year term days earlier.
But Mr. Trump dropped him from consideration for attorney general amid resistance from Republican senators. There is no legal barrier to Mr. Gaetz showing up unannounced to participate in the speakership election. He flirted with the idea on social media last month.
And on Friday, Mr. Gaetz appeared to hint at some inside knowledge about the outcome, declaring on X that Mr. Johnson would be elected “on the first vote.”
“People might like or dislike that,” Mr. Gaetz wrote. “I’m just reporting the news.”
A representative for One America News Network, where Mr. Gaetz has signed on as an anchor, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about his plans.
On Friday afternoon, the acting clerk of the House announced to the chamber that his office had in its possession a letter from Mr. Gaetz “indicating that he would not serve in the House of the 119th Congress,” to which the chamber erupted in cheers. It’s not clear whether this is a different letter than the one Mr. Gaetz submitted at the time of his resignation in November. Mr. Gaetz did not participate in Friday’s procedural vote to establish that a quorum of members were present, nor has he appeared in the House chamber.
It is not clear what role Mr. Gaetz would play should he materialize on the House floor, or whether he could in fact participate in the speaker election. A provocateur by nature, the Florida Republican has been more interested in sowing drama within his party than fostering unity. On Thursday, Mr. Gaetz hosted Johnson detractors on the first episode of his new program, “The Matt Gaetz Show,” to speculate on the race for speaker.
Because Mr. Johnson can likely afford to lose only one Republican vote — and Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky has already said he is a hard “no” — Mr. Gaetz could be a lifeline for the speaker if he chose to be.
But if he attempted to step in, Democrats would be all but certain to object. In his letter of resignation last month, Mr. Gaetz wrote that in addition to giving up his House seat, “I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress.”
Notably, House members are not sworn in until after they elect a speaker, so in theory Mr. Gaetz could both participate in the speaker election and also stay true to his word that he won’t take the oath for the new Congress.
