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Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who on Thursday withdrew from President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, said Friday he will not return to Congress next year.

“I’m still going to compete, but it will be from a new place. I have no intention of running for the 119th Congress,” he told Charlie Kirk in an interview.

Gaetz, first elected in 2016, had resigned from the House of Representatives earlier this month after Trump picked him to lead the Justice Department and before the House Ethics Committee could release a report on its investigation into him. including alleged sexual misconduct, which he has denied. . The fate of the report — and whether it would be released if he was no longer in Congress — had resulted in a spirited debate on Capitol Hill over whether he could be confirmed.

In the wake of Gaetz’s withdrawal as Trump’s pick, senior congressional leaders from both parties had been scrambling to determine whether Gaetz could return to the House of Representatives next year after winning re-election this fall.

“There are some amazing people from Florida who have run for my seat, people who have inspired me with their heroism, with their public service. And I’m actually excited to see Northwest Florida reaching new heights and having great representation,” Gaetz told Kirk.

He added: “I’m going to fight for President Trump. I’m going to do what he asks of me, just like I’ve always done. But I think eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress.”

The former congressman, who has attended and provided input at a number of transition meetings, said he will continue to be part of the next Trump administration’s staff.

He also praised Trump’s subsequent pick for attorney general, which the newly elected president announced just hours after Gaetz withdrew his name — former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“I’m so excited about where this transition is, and I know there are people disappointed that I won’t be the next attorney general, but you have to understand that this is the political process, and sometimes the path you take is An. that takes you to another place, and it could be a glorious place,” Gaetz told Kirk.

“My good friend Pam Bondi is going to be a phenomenal attorney general for Donald Trump. She has legal insight. She hates criminals. She is a bright legal mind and a fellow Floridian.”

Gaetz – who said in his Thursday announcement that his selection was “unfairly becoming a distraction” – said that “Bondi’s appointment will not have the edge that mine would have.”

Gaetz claimed he had momentum with senators but had to do “two jobs at the same time” as he met with them on Capitol Hill.

“I had a full-time job explaining to senators that a tweet I sent about them might have been rash and not reflective of how I would serve as attorney general. And at the same time, I had to build out the Justice Department with the right human talent, the right policy infrastructure, and Pam Bondi’s appointment won’t have the edge that mine would have.

Gaetz, whose bombastic political tactics had alienated many people within his own party, downplayed the allegations against him in the House Ethics report, claiming they were part of a smear campaign.

“There’s a play being put on in Washington where they try to smear someone and then dredge up false, years-old accusations about the most salacious and clickbait flavor possible,” Gaetz told Kirk.

Gaetz has vehemently denied allegations investigated by the Justice Department and the commission, including the claim that he had sex with a woman in 2017 when she was a minor.

CNN reported Thursday, just before Gaetz resigned as attorney general, that sources familiar with her testimony said the woman told the ethics committee that she had two sexual encounters with Gaetz at a party in 2017, when she was 17 years old. was. She testified that the second sexual encounter, which had not previously been reported, involved another adult woman. She also testified about both sexual encounters in a civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit, sources said.

Gaetz was known on Capitol Hill for his role in ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. And on Thursday, he blamed the California Republican for his downfall.

“I was dealing with a politically motivated body. They didn’t like me because of what I did to Kevin McCarthy,” Gaetz said. “And they had an ax to grind. So that would at least be a sufficient basis to delay my confirmation as attorney general.”

CNN’s Eric Brander contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional information.