Matt Gaetz may join OAN: Report

After withdrawing his name for consideration as Donald Trump’s attorney general, Florida congressman Matt Gaetz is likely to join One America News Network as a host, CNN is reporting, citing a source.

Gaetz was announced as a surprise pick for AG shortly after the November election. He received some early support from GOP politicians, but his lack of high-level legal experience and allegations of misconduct that were already circulating quickly made it clear he would struggle to gain the senate confirmation required for the job, even among some Republicans.

Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

He was previously investigated for an alleged role in a sex trafficking ring that may have involved minors. He denied those allegations too and no charges were ever brought.

Since then, Gaetz announced he would step aside from consideration for the role and also not return to his seat in Congress. 

Meanwhile, Democrats tried to unseal the results of that ethics investigation into Gaetz but were blocked in a largely party-line vote. 

OAN did not comment when contacted by CNN.

If Gaetz does join OAN, he would be one of the most prominent faces among largely unknown hosts. The network, which is often viewed as leaning far right and frequently broadcasts conspiracy theories, false information and racist, xenophobic and misogynistic comments from its commentators. 

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The network is only carried by a small handle of smaller cable systems, having lost its most widespread distribution deal with DirecTV in 2022. Since then, it’s had a hard time getting its linear feed picked up by mainstream systems. Viewers have been encouraged to access the network’s signal via streaming options.

It’s not clear how many people watch the network, because its numbers are likely so low it’s not possible to track them. The network has published claims saying that between 150,000 and 50,000 people watch it, but Nielsen has said it would place the estimate closer to 14,000.