The press has been flooded with rumors about what is next for former Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz.

Talk of the former Republican Congressman running for Governor of Florida resumed with Gaetz posting a GIF of the state flag waving on X.

Gaetz was prompted by ex-Florida House Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who wrote to him on the platform, “.@mattgaetz will be the next Governor of the State of Florida.”

Other politicos, such as David Shapiro, responded:

Gaetz rocked the national political scene when he brought the motion to vacate, ultimately deposing then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). McCarthy eventually resigned and was replaced by incumbent Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

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The press immediately began speculating that Gaetz was gubernatorial-minded.

“Matt Gaetz just positioned himself for Florida governor,” a Politico headline read in October 2023.

NBC reported that anonymous sources who claimed to have attended events with Gaetz were hearing him tell allies that he intended to run for governor.

However, Gaetz then appeared to put the kibosh on the notion.

“I’m not running for governor,” Gaetz said at the time, per CBS. “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Gaetz immediately resigned his congressional seat after the announcement of his selection to be the U.S. Attorney General. However, this career advancement was mired in accusations of sexual misconduct and drug use that he denied and for which evidence has not been made available to the public.

The department he would have headed had previously investigated the matter but never prosecuted it, and a House Ethics Committee inquiry report on the alleged incidents was never released after a deadlock in Congress.

Subsequently, Gaetz withdrew from the nomination process and was replaced by former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The rumor was that he would return to Congress next year through the special off-year election to fill his seat. However, he also nixed this idea. “I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” he told commentator Charlie Kirk in an interview.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is term-limited and can not seek re-election; therefore, there cannot be a gubernatorial showdown between the two men in 2026.

With long-time Florida Senator Marco Rubio tapped to be Trump’s Secretary of State, there will be a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. DeSantis will appoint Rubio’s successor. The Republican governor said the selection will “likely” be made “by the beginning of January.”

“We have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting,” DeSantis posted to X. “More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January.”

A flurry of rumors has indicated that DeSantis is considering everyone from Florida Lieutenant-Governor Jeanette Nunez to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Lara Trump.

The Miami Herald has floated the possibility that DeSantis could appoint himself as senator, but he reportedly did not respond to a request for comment from the Herald. This option is rare and has not happened since Senator Walter Mondale (D-MN) was elected vice president, and Gov. Wendell Anderson appointed himself as a senator in 1977.

There was speculation that DeSantis would appoint Gaetz to the senate, but that chatter quickly blew over.

No matter who DeSantis chooses, the officeholder’s writ of election will only last until 2026 when a special election must be held to fill the seat until the constitutionally prescribed end of its term in 2028.