Matt Gaetz to join One America News as an anchor

(CNN) — Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz will join One America News Network (OAN) as an anchor in January, the network announced Tuesday.

“Matt Gaetz has earned a reputation as a relentless champion of conservative values, taking on entrenched Washington bureaucrats and exposing government overreach,” the network said in a news release. CNN reported Monday that Gaetz was expected to announce he is joining OAN as an anchor.

News of Gaetz’s move to the network comes less than a month after he withdrew his name from consideration to serve as attorney general, after President-elect Donald Trump told him he didn’t have the votes in the Senate.

Gaetz, who will host a one-hour political talk show in the primetime slot of 9 p.m. ET on weekday nights, said in a statement that he “couldn’t be more thrilled to join OAN’s forward-thinking team and be part of this revolutionary expansion.”

The Republican firebrand previously announced he is not 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 conservative activist Charlie Kirk in an interview last month.

OAN President Charles Herring celebrated the addition of Gaetz to the network in a statement, calling the former congressman “a remarkable talent and a principled leader.”

“His insider access to America’s top policymakers and unwavering dedication to America-first values will bring unparalleled insight and exclusive content to OAN viewers. We’re thrilled to welcome him to the OAN family,” Herring added.

The addition of Gaetz as an OAN anchor is a big gain for the far-right network, given that most of the channel’s personalities are not well known.

The network was dealt a significant blow when it was dropped by DirecTV in 2022. Other big distributors have been reluctant to carry its programming, and OAN has urged people to stream the network online instead.

OAN has established itself as perhaps the most extreme of the pro-Trump news outlets.

The little-watched network regularly gives airtime to baseless conspiracy theories that support Trump. The channel even worked closely with Russian operatives on a propaganda-style documentary during Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 over allegations he pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.

Gaetz’s decision to withdraw his name for attorney general came in the face of bipartisan pressure, especially as Democrats were pushing for the release of a House Ethics Committee report detailing its investigation into him, including over allegations of sexual misconduct and other alleged crimes.

Gaetz, first elected in 2016, has vehemently denied the allegations investigated by the Justice Department and the committee, including the claim that he had sex with a woman in 2017 when she was a minor.

Since resigning from Congress, Gaetz has taken to the celebrity video message platform Cameo, where he sells personalized video messages.

“I served in Congress. Trump nominated me to be US Attorney General (that didn’t work out). Once I fired the House Speaker,” his bio on Cameo says, referring to his role in ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year.

This story was updated Tuesday to reflect OAN’s announcement of Gaetz’s new show.

CNN’s Brian Stelter contributed to this report.

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