Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general on Thursday, said Friday he will not be returning to Congress next year.

“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 Charlie Kirk in an interview.

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

In the wake of Gaetz’s withdrawal as Trump’s pick, senior congressional leaders in both parties had been scrambling to determine if Gaetz could return to the House next year after winning reelection this fall.

“There are a number of fantastic Floridians who’ve stepped up to run for my seat, people who have inspired with their heroism, with their public service. And I’m actually excited to see Northwest Florida go to new heights and have great representation,” Gaetz told Kirk.

He added: “I’m going to be fighting for President Trump. I’m going to be doing whatever he asks of me, as I always have. But I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress.”

The former congressman, who has sat in on a number of transition meetings and given input, said he would continue to be part of staffing the next Trump administration.

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

“I am so excited about where this transition stands, and I know there are people disappointed that I won’t be the next attorney general, but you have to understand this is the political process, and sometimes the path you’re on is one that takes you to a different 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 the legal acumen. 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” — claimed in the interview that he had momentum with senators this week, but that “Bondi’s confirmation won’t have some of the sharp edges that mine would have.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.