As one-man leper colony Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the office of Attorney General, his wife Ginger had some parting words on social media: “The end of an era,” she wrote.

Gaetz’s own announcement was a bit more formal, and in case you missed it and moved straight to the celebration phase of him never running the DOJ, here it is, also via social media:

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 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. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.

I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.

Let’s HOPE it’s the end of an era, Ginger. She accompanied her text with a photo of the two of them on the Capitol steps, where her husband has been serving since 2017.

The end of an era ✨ https://t.co/AdXGRnfpq9 pic.twitter.com/K04Jf29hEf

— Ginger Gaetz (@GingerLGaetz) November 21, 2024

Gaetz, as you likely know by now, resigned from his office in the House of Representatives in order to be considered for AG. But there’s already talk of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointing him as Senator in replacement of Marco Rubio, who will serve as Secretary of State.

That might upset Lara Trump, who was being talked about for the seat before Trump ever made his announcement about Gaetz. She’s been terrible as co-chair of the RNC, and heaven knows she doesn’t have a singing career in front of her.

There’s already discussion as to whether Gaetz has further political aspirations, but one thing’s for certain: He’s not getting THIS job back. His resignation letter to Governor DeSantis indicated that he did not intend to take the oath of office for the Congress that will be seated in January, and that’s enough to trigger a vacancy.

He CAN’T just change his mind, he’d have to run again, against whoever fills the vacancy, and House terms are two years, so at the very least, he’s out of the House through 2026.

Again, DeSantis could throw a wrench in everything and just appoint Gaetz as Senator. But if even part of his decision to resign was to avoid the release of the House Ethics Committee report against him, he’d still have that hanging over his head. They couldn’t formally reprimand him in the House if he’s not a member there, but the release or even leak of the report would not bode well for his future.