"[208] In January 2018, Gaetz defended a statement by Trump that reportedly said Haiti and African nations were "shithole" countries, saying that Haiti was covered by "sheet metal and garbage" and in "disgusting" condition. [179][180], In October 2017, Gaetz claimed that the Medicaid expansion permitted by the Affordable Care Act fueled the opioid crisis. [174] In lobbying for the bill, he said that the open carry of weapons was a right "granted not by government but by God. [77] Gaetz and Merrill separately told Politico that Gaetz paid below-market rent for the space, but Gaetz later said that the rent was "at or below market rate". [298], In December 2020, Gaetz announced his engagement to his girlfriend, Ginger Luckey, the sister of Oculus VR founder and major Republican donor Palmer Luckey. [217][218] The week before, he claimed without evidence that "FBI operatives organized and participated in the January 6th Capitol riot. [232][233], On March 30, 2021, Axios reported that Gaetz was "seriously considering not seeking re-election and possibly leaving Congress early for a job at Newsmax". [154][non-primary source needed][155], In January 2017, Gaetz proposed legislation to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming that it hurts small businesses via the costs associated with compliance. [219] He also persuaded his father, in the Florida State Senate, to support the repeal. Matthew Louis Gaetz II (/ e t s / GAYTS; born May 7, 1982) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district since 2017. "[294], In June 2020, following an argument with then-Representative Cedric Richmond, Gaetz said he had been living with a 19-year-old immigrant from Cuba, Nestor Galbn, since Galbn was 12, and considered Galbn his son. [131][132], Gaetz said of then-U.S. attorney general Jeff Sessions that "over at the Department of Justice, he's got Stockholm syndrome, he's become sympathetic with his captors over there in the Deep State. Testimony from a former White House aide is the first indication that he sought a pardon for his own exposure related to the investigation. [56], In June 2021, Gaetz was one of 21 House Republicans to vote against a resolution to give the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6. [190] but the EcoHealth Alliance later admitted that under the grant it had enhanced a bat coronavirus so it became potentially more infectious to humans, which the NIH said was an "unexpected result" of the research it had funded that was carried out in partnership with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. [78] House rules explicitly disallow below-market rentals, and require that parties to such leases "have [not] had, [n]or continue to have, a professional or legal relationship (except as a landlord and tenant)". Tampa Bay Times, Feb. 18, 2014: Near midnight, Okaloosa County Deputy Chris Anglin clocked Gaetz going 48 in a 35 mph zone. Although sitting Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sought the speakership and had the support of 213 members, he needed five more votes to reach a majority to be elected. [165], On June 1, 2020, during the nationwide George Floyd protests, Gaetz tweeted, "Now that we clearly see antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?" The Matt Gaetz - Marjorie Taylor Greene show on Thursday night probably won't cost us as much. [210], Gaetz voted against the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020. Gaetz's new communications director, Joel Valdez, told Forbes that "all of the office's eight female staffers signed it", but the version of the statement that was released did not have anyone's signature or identify any specific employee. [38] He is only the seventh person to represent this district since 1933 (the district was numbered the 3rd before 1963). . [88] Gaetz nominated him once and voted for Trump on the 7th, 8th and 11th ballots. "[140][137] Ohio representative Jim Jordan said, "The members have just had it, and they want to be able to see and represent their constituents and find out what's going on. The first Green Beret to serve in Congress, Mike Waltz is a Florida native, a combat-decorated veteran, former White House and Pentagon advisor, small business owner, and proud father. "[295] In 2016, he called Galbn a "local student"; in 2017, he called Galbn "my helper". Both had begun working for Gaetz when he joined Congress in 2017. matt gaetz military green beret. [25][156], In November 2017, Gaetz joined the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus. "[134], In October 2019, Gaetz organized a "storming" of a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility on Capitol Hill by about two dozen Republican congressmen, including House minority whip Steve Scalise, in an effort to sit in on and hear the deposition of a Pentagon official during the impeachment inquiry against Trump. Right-wing Republicans like Representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are making the case that the post-Trump version of their party will double down on the former president's most . [3] In 2016, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was reelected in 2018, 2020, and 2022. [45], In April 2019, Gaetz hired Darren Beattie as a speechwriter. [195], On July 31, Gaetz said of COVID-19 variants that "next it'll be the Chi Omega variant or the Pi Kappa Psi variant. "I. [142] Each side got equal time to question witnesses. [254][255], Gaetz said his attorneys contacted the FBI, which he said informed them that Gaetz was a subject, not a target, of an investigation. [252][253] The sender was later identified as Florida developer Stephen Alford, who was arrested on August 31. [61], On February 26, 2019, the night before the scheduled public hearing of Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, before the House Oversight Committee, Gaetz directed a tweet to Cohen that implied without evidence that Cohen had had multiple extramarital affairs and also suggested his wife might be unfaithful while he was imprisoned due to new information disclosed to her. [243], Gaetz had argued in a November 2020 Fox News appearance that Trump "should pardon Michael Flynn [and] everyone from himself to his administration officials to Joe Exotic". Beekman was charged with murder in 2019 in Michigan, and the victim's family criticized the invitation. [222], In 2022, Gaetz voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. [284][285] In January 2022, an ex-girlfriend of Gaetz's testified before a grand jury after being granted immunity;[286] she reportedly had information relevant to two of three criminal charges being considered for Gaetz: sex trafficking a minor and obstruction of justice. [245] The next day, Trump publicly denied that Gaetz had asked him for a pardon. He managed debate preparations and "drafted early administration organizational charts, helped steer early policy decisions and played a huge role in DeSantis' appointments", according to Politico. '"[197][198] A Texas teenager tweeted a post mocking Gaetz, who responded with a photo of her that, according to NPR, implied his comments had touched a nerve; she used the incident to raise over $2 million for abortion funds. Representative Matt Gaetz called out Google for censoring conservative news sites like the Gateway Pundit, Daily Caller, Breitbart, Western Journal and the American Spectator. [229], Denying any sexual relationships with minors, Gaetz said on March 30, 2021, that he did not plan to resign from the House. Greene has been publicly harassing people she opposes for years. [236][237], According to the 2021 reports, federal investigators were looking into Gaetz's September 2018 trip to the Bahamas. [53] During the tour, Gaetz and Greene repeated debunked claims of fraud in the 2020 election, attacked Big Tech and, at one event, claimed that the Second Amendment was for "maintaining, within the citizenry, the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government, if that becomes necessary. Gaetz had allegedly claimed to have slept with the women in the photos. [145] Gaetz voted against the second impeachment of Donald Trump. "[262][263][264], On March 31, 2021, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he had no plans to remove Gaetz from his seats on the Judiciary and Armed Services Committees, but that he might change his mind if Gaetz "gets indicted"[265] or "if it comes out to be true. He added, "it should be investigations [of Democrats] first[and] policy, bill-making, to support the lobbyists and the PACs, as a far, far diminished priority. A member of the Republican Party, he is widely regarded as a staunch proponent of far-right . Gaetz, a Florida representative, is embroiled in investigations into an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old that may have violated sex trafficking laws. [90], Gaetz has self-identified as a "libertarian populist". The anti-McCarthy members withheld more than four votes through 14 ballots. In addition to denying the allegations about his relationship with a 17-year-old girl, Gaetz denied a previously unreported claim that he had been photographed "with child prostitutes", and said that a friend of his (whom Carlson had supposedly met) had been urged by the FBI to claim Gaetz was "involved in some pay-for-play scheme". [48][49], After the 2020 State of the Union Address, Gaetz filed an ethics complaint against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, claiming she had committed a "flagrant violation of decorum" and perhaps broken the law by ripping up her copy of the speech. [141] House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, also an ex officio member, appointed the ranking member, Devin Nunes, and eight other Republicans to the committee. [209], In October 2018, Gaetz falsely claimed that George Soros paid for a caravan of migrants from Central America to the United States. [246], On May 17, 2021, Greenberg pleaded guilty to multiple crimes in a plea deal in which he would have to cooperate with prosecutors. [15], On September 25, 2016, following the death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jos Fernndez, Gaetz criticized the athletes protesting during the national anthem in a tweet. Matthew Louis Gaetz II was born on May 7, 1982, in Hollywood, Florida, to Victoria (ne Quertermous) and Don Gaetz, who later became a prominent local politician. [267] The next day, his communications director, Luke Ball, and his legislative director, Devin Murphy, resigned. He also argued that "Providing for flights and hotel rooms for people that you're dating who are of legal age is not a crime. He was seen posing for photos in a crowd of unmasked attendees, prompting New Jersey governor Phil Murphy and Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop to publicly condemn him. [206], Gaetz opposes sanctuary cities, which opt not to dedicate local law enforcement resources to prosecuting people solely for being undocumented. Feb 24. How the 'revenge porn' bill ended up so flawed", "Weatherford calls for hearings on 'stand your ground', "Matt Gaetz to rally base ahead of Stand Your Ground hearing", "Proposed 'stand your ground' amendment would expunge records", "Matt Gaetz wants to talk about his mug shot, but not his arrest", "Gaetz wasn't always against leadership. [97][98] He has also introduced legislation to loosen federal restrictions on the cultivation of cannabis for research purposes. [120] The White House reportedly never seriously considered the request, because it was decided that issuing preemptive pardons would set a bad precedent. And both won re-election to their seats just days ago. [121][122][120] The Times also reported that aides had told Trump of the request. He then said this meant allowing Americans "the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government if that becomes necessary. "[216] Gaetz later deleted the tweet. [260] Alford, who has previously been federally convicted of fraud and is represented by McGee, was federally indicted in August 2021 for allegedly conducting the scheme. Inquiry Over Sex With an Underage Girl", "New details shed light on Gaetz's Bahamas trip", "DOJ Investigation Focusing on Matt Gaetz's Alleged Payments for Sex: Report", "Federal investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz is focused on cash payments to women, report says", "Indicted Gaetz Associate Is Said to Be Cooperating With Justice Dept", "Joel Greenberg, the former confidant of Matt Gaetz, pleaded guilty to a range of crimes", "Rep. Matt Gaetz eyes early retirement from Congress to take job at Newsmax", "Investigation of Matt Gaetz includes whether campaign funds were used to pay for travel and expenses", "Justice Dept. "[133], During Mueller's testimony to two congressional committees on July 24, 2019, Gaetz told him, "if Russians were lying to Christopher Steele to undermine our confidence in our newly elected president, that would be precisely in your purview because you stated in your opening that the organizing principle was to fully and thoroughly investigate Russian interference. Gaetz made two speeches for the organization while in Congress, and Pirozzolo gave two separate donations of $1,000 to Gaetz's campaign arm "Friends of Matt Gaetz", in March 2016 and May 2017. [114] Aaron Blake of The Washington Post called him one of Congress' "most controversial members", and one who has "unabashedly aligned himself with Trump on basically all things. [184] Gaetz has claimed that wearing the gas mask was not an act of mockery but a way of "demonstrating his concern". Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican of Florida. [58][59][60] Gaetz apologized to the family. [118], Gaetz is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, but not of the Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, or Oversight and Reform Committees, and so was not allowed to join lawmakers' closed-door deposition of former White House Russia aide Fiona Hill in October 2019. [35] On March 21, 2016, Gaetz withdrew from the race, choosing instead to run for the U.S. House seat representing Florida's 1st congressional district; the incumbent, Jeff Miller, had announced 11 days earlier that he would not seek reelection.[36]. His work in Congress focuses on national security, veterans' affairs, and adherence to constitutional principles. [189], On April 14, Gaetz said the Wuhan Institute of Virology "birthed a monster", a reference to the theory that COVID-19 was leaked out of a Chinese research lab. [228][230][231] As part of his plea bargain, Greenberg cooperated with the investigation of Gaetz and others. [211][212], Gaetz voted against Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 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