| Matt Gaetz | |||
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| Former U.S. Representative from Florida's 1st Congressional District From: January 3, 2017 – November 13, 2024 | |||
| Predecessor | Jeff Miller | ||
| Successor | vacant | ||
| Former State Representative from Florida's 4th District From: April 13, 2010 – November 8, 2016 | |||
| Predecessor | Ray Sansom | ||
| Successor | Mel Ponder | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican | ||
| Religion | Baptist | ||
Matthew Louis “Matt” Gaetz, II, born May 7, 1982 (age 43), is a former Republican U.S. representative who represented Florida's 1st congressional district from 2017-2024. Rep. Gaetz is one of the most courageous conservatives in Congress.
Gaetz stood strong against the Dems' politicized indictment of Trump, and properly criticized the weakness by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis:[1]
| “ | If I were Governor of Florida, I would not allow any Floridian to be hauled before a Soros-backed prosecutor in a blue city over politics. I wouldn’t make an exception to not protect the President .... Ron DeSantis should be standing in the breach to stop any sort of extradition of President Trump from the state of Florida. The fact that he’s not doing so puts every Floridian at risk who could be the subject of a false allegation. | ” |
Gaetz gave a notable speech in May 2019 advocating for an America First foreign policy.[2] He has criticized Congress' prioritizing Russia/Ukraine issues over securing the U.S. southern border.[3]
Gaetz has been targeted by neocons for among other things his opposition to Saudi Arabian influence on American politics, his opposition to war with Iran, his open contempt for George W. Bush, and his public feud with Liz Cheney.[4][5][6][7] Their influence may have resulted in him being excluded from Trump's impeachment defense team.[8]
He indicated in December 2020 that he would object on the House floor to the certification of Joe Biden based on Electoral fraud in the United States presidential election, 2020.
Despite all of the above, Gaetz does have some liberal views on social issues. In 2015, while serving in the Florida state legislature, he sponsored a repeal on its ban on adoption by homosexuals,[9]. In 2019, he defending Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) before she resigned over a sex scandal. Gaetz also defied conservatives by voting to increase visa caps for high-skilled (i.e., high-paid) workers (2019 roll call h437).[10] Some of those views on social issues have since been reversed, such as when he voted against the radical Equality Act. In September of 2021, he voted with Democrats and RINOs to pass a red flag gun confiscation bill, leaving many conservatives outraged;[11][12] however, he expressed regret and successfully fought to remove them from the bill. Gaetz has otherwise remained strongly pro-Second Amendment.[13] Gaetz also endorsed the idea to make President Donald J. Trump speaker of the House to reinstate the latter as the true, official and legitimate President and impeach and indict Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and other globalist, leftist/liberal/neo-Marxist and RINO criminals, conspirators, insurrectionists, parasites and traitors.[14][15] Gaetz has left 'a trail of antisemitic comments.'[16]
In early 2021, Gaetz was the victim of a false, baseless, malicious, and coordinated personal attack by the liberal media.[17] Gaetz's accusation of attempted extortion was later corroborated,[18] and he was vindicated.
Gaetz on Nov 13, 2024, just hours before Trump announced his nomination for AG,[19] he wrote a post on X:[20]We ought to have a full court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people.And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to get going!
Gaetz's wife, Ginger, is the sister of Palmer Luckey, inventor of the Oculus Rift (the first commercially viable set of virtual reality goggles) and founder of defense start-up company Anduril Industries.
References
- ↑ https://floridianpress.com/2023/03/gaetz-says-desantis-puts-americans-at-risk-by-not-backing-trump-against-persecution/?spot_im_redirect_source=pitc
- ↑ Wong, Kristina (May 23, 2019). Matt Gaetz Delivers Impassioned Foreign Policy Speech: ‘America First Means the American People First’. Breitbart News. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
See also:- Moran, Sean (June 16, 2019). Matt Gaetz: ‘America First’ Means Protecting U.S. Border Before Avenging Japanese Vessels. Breitbart News. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- Mills, Curt (August 19, 2019). Matt Gaetz Goes to Washington. The American Conservative. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
- ↑ Poor, Jeff (November 17, 2019). Gaetz: My Constituents Question Congress Concerns over Russia-Ukraine Instead of U.S.-Mexico Border. Breitbart News. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri4D0Raczqo
- ↑ https://twitter.com/mattgaetz/status/1215447980305797122
- ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/21/liz-cheney-asked-some-republicans-step-down-after-trump-criticisms/5480384002/
- ↑ https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/us-rep-matt-gaetz-urges-wyoming-unseat-liz-cheney#stream/0
- ↑ Matt Gaetz says he was kept off impeachment defense team over war powers vote. New York Post.
- ↑ https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=720277.docx&DocumentType=Amendments&BillNumber=7013&Session=2015
- ↑ http://politicsthatwork.com/voting-record/Matt-Gaetz-412690
- ↑ https://welovetrump.com/2021/09/25/here-are-the-135-republicans-who-just-voted-for-red-flag-gun-confiscation/
- ↑ https://americanfaith.com/read-the-names-135-republicans-vote-with-democrats-to-advance-red-flag-gun-confiscation-bill-as-part-of-ndaa/
- ↑ https://www.ontheissues.org/FL/Matt_Gaetz_Gun_Control.htm
- ↑ https://newrepublic.com/article/164670/matt-gaetz-trump-speaker-2024
- ↑ https://www.newsweek.com/matt-gaetz-trump-speaker-house-gorka-1681738
- ↑ Trump AG nominee Matt Gaetz has left a trail of antisemitic comments, Forward, Nov 12, 2024
- ↑ He was accused of taking a seventeen-year-old girl across state lines for sex, which prompted an FBI investigation. Gaetz denies these claims and has stated that they are the product of an extortion scheme targeting him and his father, former Florida State Senate President Don Gaetz https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-extortion-investigation-explainer-timeline-2021-3. In the months prior to Donald Trump's departure from office, Gaetz is alleged to have sought a pardon from the President, although both men have denied that such a request was ever made. https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-defends-matt-gaetz-denies-florida-congressman-asked-pardon-1581697
- ↑ https://www.dailywire.com/news/media-for-months-reported-on-matt-gaetz-investigation-without-evidence-gaetzs-claims-of-extortion-were-just-corroborated-however
- ↑ What to Know About Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s Pick for Attorney General. By Meg Kinnard / AP. Time, 13 Nov 2024
- ↑ MatGaetz, Nov 13, 2024
External links
- Campaign Website
- House Website
- Profile at Ballotpedia
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