The Ethics Committee report on Gaetz's status in the House and the Hitchhiker's Guide to it.

Last week, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from the House, and the precedent of the House is that once you resign, it is final. Therefore, Gaetz cannot revoke his letter of resignation and must adhere to the "effective immediately" declaration.

Earlier, it was reported that Gaetz could serve in the new Congress. He was re-elected to his seat for the new Congress to be seated on Jan. 3. In his letter to the clerk of the House, Gaetz stated that he would not take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress to pursue the position of Attorney General in the Trump Administration.

If Gaetz decides to serve in the new Congress, he must inform the clerk of the House that he intends to do so, but he has not yet signaled his future plans.

The House Ethics Committee must conclude its investigation into Gaetz by the end of this Congress at 11:59:59 am EST on Jan. 3. However, there is a precedent for the committee to continue an inquiry from one Congress to another, so it's possible that this will happen.

The committee is still committed to completing its current work, but the withdrawal of Gaetz's nomination for attorney general and his decision not to serve in the new Congress may diminish the importance of publicly releasing the report of a former member. Although the report may contain damaging information, the House typically does not release reports about former members, even though there is precedent for doing so. Additionally, the Senate Judiciary Committee is no longer interested in the report since Gaetz is no longer before them as the attorney general nominee.

If Gaetz chooses to serve in the House, it would aid the GOP in maintaining their numbers, with Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Michael Waltz, R-Minn. – and possibly others – departing to join the Trump administration.