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Matt Gaetz

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Matt Gaetz
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded byJeff Miller
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 4th district
In office
April 13, 2010 – November 8, 2016
Preceded byRay Sansom
Succeeded byMel Ponder
Personal details
Born (1982-05-07) 7 May 1982 (age 42)
Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceFort Walton Beach, Florida
Alma materFlorida State University (B.S.)
College of William and Mary (J.D.)
ProfessionAttorney
WebsiteHouse website

Matthew Louis Gaetz, II[1] (/ɡeɪts/; born May 7, 1982) is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 1st congressional district since 2017, where he serves on the Budget, Armed Services, and Judiciary Committees. He is a member of the Republican Party. Prior to serving in Congress he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 4th District, which includes most of Okaloosa County, from 2010 to 2016. He has also worked as an attorney in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Early life and education

Gaetz was born in Hollywood, Florida to Don and Vicky Gaetz and grew up in the Fort Walton Beach, Florida area.[2] He graduated from Florida State University in 2003 and from The College of William and Mary in 2007 with a juris doctor.[3]

Florida House of Representatives

In 2010, following the resignation of Republican State Representative Ray Sansom due to corruption charges,[4] Gaetz ran in the special election to succeed Sansom in the 4th District, which included southern Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County. In a crowded Republican primary that included Craig Barker, Kabe Woods, Jerry G. Melvin, and Bill Garvie, Gaetz emerged victorious with 43% of the vote. In the special general election, Gaetz defeated Democratic nominee Jan Fernald, winning 66% of the vote. He was unopposed for a full term in 2010. In 2012, following the reconfiguration of Florida House of Representatives districts, Gaetz's district lost its share of Santa Rosa County. He was reelected in unopposed contests in 2012 and 2014.

While serving in the state house, Gaetz joined with State Senator Joe Negron to propose legislation "designed to accelerate the execution of many of the 404 inmates on Florida's death row" by requiring the Governor to sign a death warrant for those inmates who have exhausted their appeals,[5] noting, "Only God can judge. But we can sure set up the meeting."[6] He also joined forces with State Senator Greg Evers to repeal legislation that requires that 10% of gasoline sold in Florida contain ethanol, saying, "This is the bill that removes and repeals Florida's burdensome ethanol mandate."[7]

Following the trial of George Zimmerman for the shooting of Trayvon Martin, Will Weatherford, the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, announced that he would order hearings on the "stand-your-ground" law that was raised as an issue during the trial.[8] Gaetz, the Chairman of the Criminal Justice Subcommittee, was tasked with reviewing the legislation, and announced before hearings that he would not support changing "one damn comma," though he indicated that he would listen to both sides' testimony during the hearings.[9] Following the conclusion of the hearings, he authored legislation that would allow defendants who successfully used a "stand your ground" defense during their trial "to apply for a 'certificate of eligibility' to expunge information related to 'stand your ground' from their criminal records."[10]

When his subcommittee was considering legislation that would "keep mug shots of people who are charged with crimes off the Internet until they are convicted," Gaetz brought up his 2008 arrest for driving under the influence, arguing that his mistakes made him who he is and that publicly available mug shots "could be a problem for those unaccustomed to publicity."[11]

2016 Florida Senate and U.S. House races

In 2013, Gaetz announced that in 2016 he would run for the 1st district state senate seat then held by his father, State Senator Don Gaetz. His father was due to be term-limited out of the Senate in 2016.[12] On March 21, 2016, Gaetz withdrew from the state race to run for the U.S. House seat representing Florida's 1st congressional district, since the incumbent, Jeff Miller, had announced on March 10 he would not seek reelection.[13]

On August 30, 2016, Gaetz won the Republican primary for the 1st congressional district with 35.7% of the vote – defeating Greg Evers (21.5%), Cris Dosev (20.6%), and five other candidates.[14] In the November 8, 2016, general election, Gaetz defeated Democratic candidate Steven Specht with 69 percent of the vote.[15] However, he had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with his primary win; the 1st is the most Republican district in Florida and one of the most Republican districts in the nation.

U.S. House of Representatives

On September 25, 2016, following the death of Miami Marlins’ pitcher José Fernández, Gaetz criticized the athletes protesting during the national anthem in a tweet: "To all who will kneel during the anthem today – just remember how José Fernández risked his life just for the chance to stand for it".[16][17]

Committee assignments

Political positions

2017 Special Counsel investigation

In November 2017 Gaetz introduced a congressional resolution demanding Robert Mueller's recusal as Special Counsel due to conflicts of interest.[19] In the resolution Gaetz called for a Special Counsel investigation into the handling of the Hillary Clinton email controversy by the FBI, undue interference of Attorney General Loretta Lynch in the investigation, and the acquisition of Uranium One by the Russian state corporation Rosatom during Mueller's time as FBI director.[20][21] Gaetz stated that he did not trust him to lead the investigation because of Mueller's alleged involvement in approval of the Uranium One deal and Mueller's close relationship with the dismissed FBI director James Comey, a probable person of interest in the proposed investigation.

Cannabis

Gaetz supports rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, enabling further research and expanded use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.[22] In September 2017, he keynoted the American Medical Marijuana Physicians Association's annual conference.[23] Gaetz supports right-to-try laws[citation needed] and in 2015 sponsored a House bill to expand Florida's Right to Try Act to include medical marijuana.[24][25] The bill as amended was approved by the governor in March 2016.[26]

Donald Trump

On February 23, 2017, Gaetz, worried about protesters disrupting him from being able to speak at his town hall in Pace, Florida, prepared what his staffers called "the 'non-verbal town hall,' reminiscent of a scene from the movie Love Actually. Gaetz has printed out part of a speech that gets some of his message across onto giant boards that he will hold up if he is unable to get a word in."[27] One of the heavy signs prepared for Gaetz to hold up during the anticipated loud moments was printed "Professional Liberal Protestors".[27] Gaetz arrived 30 minutes late to the Pace town hall and faced at least 500 constituents crowded into the Oops Bowling Alley, where he was grilled about his relationship with Trump, his stance on repealing the Affordable Care Act, and his proposal to abolish the EPA. He managed to surprise the audience and garner a rare round of applause when he said, "Absolutely, Donald Trump should release his tax returns." But he stopped short of saying Congress should subpoena those returns. Gaetz closed his town hall by shouting “Make America Great Again” over roaring opposition from the crowd.[28][29][30]

Economy

Tax reform

Gaetz voted in support of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[31] He acknowledged that the bill's pass-through tax deduction would benefit President Trump, and added, "but so many Americans benefit when commercial real estate becomes easier and more accessible."[32]

Environment

In 2016, Gaetz acknowledged global warming but said he disagrees with the scientific consensus on climate change that human activity is the primary cause. Gaetz said “In our fervor to protect the environment, we lose sight of economic and scientific reality.”[33]

In the Florida House Gaetz led successful efforts to repeal gasoline ethanol content mandates.[34][35]

On February 3, 2017, Gaetz proposed a bill, H.R. 861 (115th Congress) that would "completely abolish" the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), writing, "Our small businesses cannot afford to cover the costs associated with compliance, too often leading to closed doors and unemployed Americans. It is time to take back our legislative power from the EPA and abolish it permanently."[34][36]

The Center for American Progress and Vice Media said Gaetz was a climate change denier citing his 2016 statements.[37][38]

In November 2017 Gaetz joined the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus. He said, "I don't think there's a scientific debate left to be had on if it is happening. I also think history is going to judge very harshly climate change deniers, and I don't want to be one of them." He said that he advocates technological innovation and economic incentives that address climate change, and increased federal funds for global warming research by NASA, NOAA and universities, but that he remains opposed to increased environmental regulation.[39]

Health care

On March 23, 2017, the day prior to the scheduled vote on the American Health Care Act of 2017 in the House of Representatives, Gaetz was asked by the Associated Press whether the GOP would come together to pass the bill. Gaetz responded, “I sure hope so, or we’ll have the opportunity to watch a unified Democratic caucus impeach Donald Trump in two years when we lose the majority.”[40] The bill, however, never made it to the House for a vote, as opposition from the Freedom Caucus caused it to be pulled from the floor. In light of the bill's collapse, Gaetz questioned the GOP's competency by telling reporters, “I don’t know if we could pass a Mother’s Day resolution right now."[41]

In October 2017, Gaetz said that the Medicaid expansion fueled the opioid crisis.[42] PolitiFact rated the claim as "mostly false", noting that "experts were universal in saying that the evidence that Medicaid expansion is somehow fueling the opioid crisis doesn’t exist."[42]

Religion

On January 25, 2018 on CNN, he referred to a loss of FBI files as "the biggest coincidence since the Immaculate Conception." When pressed by commentator Chris Cuomo, Gaetz tried to explain that the Immaculate Conception referred to the "way Jesus was born", when in fact it refers to the way in which Mary was, according to Catholic doctrine, conceived without original sin, a common misconception. Gaetz corrected his analogy on air. [43]

Immigration

Gaetz opposes sanctuary cities, which opt not to dedicate local law enforcement resources to prosecuting people solely for being undocumented.[44] Upon announcing his run for Congress, Gaetz declared that illegal immigrants are "sucking us dry."[45] In January 2018 Gaetz defended an alleged controversial comment on Haiti by Trump saying that the country was in a "disgusting" condition.[46]


Issues and controversies

In July-August 2017, it was reported that one of Gaetz's legislative aides had crowdsourced the contents of a resolution that Gaetz introduced to the House Judiciary Committee with the help of /r/The_Donald, "a pro-Trump subreddit notorious for both its embrace of conspiracy theories and its gleeful offensiveness."[47] Gaetz confirmed that the aide worked for him in an email to Wired magazine, adding, "It is the responsibility of our staff to gather as much information as possible when researching a subject and provide that information for consideration. We pride ourselves on seeking as much citizen input as possible."[48] The /r/The_Donald posters' suggestions are represented in "roughly two-thirds of the total finished amendment."[48]

In January 2018 Gaetz asserted on Fox News that a simple text that read, "secret society" amounted to a palace coup against President Donald Trump[49]. His statement came after viewing another Fox News segment involving Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Senator Johnson had stated that he had an informant that revealed information about a "secret society" within the FBI and that the FBI was corrupted at the highest levels. Senator Johnson on the same day walked back the comment[50]. Gaetz continued his conspiracy theories on CNN with Chris Cuomo[51].

In January 2018, Gaetz invited alt-right activist Chuck Johnson to attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. Gaetz claimed that he has no "pre-existing" relationship with Johnson and only invited him to attend after Johnson showed up to his office. Gaetz offered Johnson an extra ticket his father couldn't use due to his bronchitis. Johnson has previously raised money for the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer. Johnson has also claimed that the number of Holocaust victims is exaggerated and that gas chambers may not have been used, common forms of Holocaust denial. [52]

Personal life

Gaetz is the son of Florida politician Don Gaetz, who represented parts of Northwest Florida as a member of the Florida State Senate from 2006 to 2016 and served as Senate President from 2012 to 2014. Gaetz's grandfather, Jerry Gaetz, was the mayor of Rugby, North Dakota and a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota at the 1964 North Dakota Republican Party state convention, where he died of a heart attack while his son watched television coverage of the event.[53]

Traffic violations

In 2008, Gaetz was arrested for a DUI as he was driving back from the Swamp, a nightclub on Okaloosa Island, Florida, in a 2001 BMW SUV registered to his father. While he was arrested and refused to take a breathalyzer test, "he didn't have his license suspended for a year when he refused the breath test—as Florida law dictates. And he didn't have that refusal used against him in a criminal proceeding." At the time of his arrest and consequent criminal proceedings, his father was serving as a local politician. The attorneys agreed to drop the case, despite the fact that the police reported that "Gaetz fumbled for his license and registration, his eyes were watery and bloodshot, and he swayed and staggered when he got out of the car," and Gaetz cited the dropped charges as proof that he was innocent.[54]

Between 1999 and 2014, Gaetz received 16 speeding tickets in Florida.[55]

References

  1. ^ "Full Name: Matthew Louis Gaetz Ii". Arrests.org. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  2. ^ https://gaetz.house.gov/issues/biography
  3. ^ "Matthew Gaetz". Martindale-Hubbell. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  4. ^ Bender, Michael (February 21, 2010). "Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom resigns". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  5. ^ Klas, Mary Ellen (April 25, 2013). "Florida House approves speeding up executions". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  6. ^ Peters, Justin (November 7, 2013). "Meet the Uncompromising Ideologue Chairing Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Hearings". Slate. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  7. ^ Flanigan, Tom (April 12, 2013). "Ethanol Fuels To Evaporate Under House Bill". WFSU-TV. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  8. ^ Van Sickler, Michael (August 2, 2013). "Weatherford calls for hearings on 'stand your ground'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  9. ^ Mitchell, Tia (August 22, 2013). "Matt Gaetz to rally base ahead of Stand Your Ground hearing". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  10. ^ Mullins, Dexter (March 25, 2014). "Proposed 'stand your ground' amendment would expunge records". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  11. ^ Van Sickler, Michael (February 18, 2014). "Matt Gaetz wants to talk about his mug shot, but not his arrest". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  12. ^ Henderson, Jeff (May 13, 2013). "Matt Gaetz Makes It Official, Will Shoot for Dad's Senate Seat in 2016". Sunshine State News. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  13. ^ Clark, Kristen (March 21, 2016). "Matt Gaetz launches bid for Congress, handing fathers state Senate seat to George Gainer". Miami Herald.
  14. ^ "Florida House Races Results". Politico. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  15. ^ "Florida U.S. House 1st District Results: Matt Gaetz Wins". Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  16. ^ @MattGaetz (September 24, 2016). "To all who will kneel during the anthem today - just remember how Jose Fernandez risked his life just for the chance to stand for it" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "GOP Lawmaker Matt Gaetz Ripped For Tweet Politicizing Death Of MLB Star Jose Fernandez". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  18. ^ "Member List". Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  19. ^ Perticone, Joe (November 3, 2017). "Republicans just introduced a resolution to remove Mueller from the Trump-Russia investigation". Business Insider. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  20. ^ Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a special counsel should be appointed by the Attorney General or his designee to investigate misconduct by former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James B. Comey with regard to the investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for mishandling of classified data and use of an unauthorized email server. at Congress.gov
  21. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (November 3, 2017). "Conservative Republicans demand Mueller recuse himself over uranium deal". Washington Post. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  22. ^ Kennedy, Emma. "Matt Gaetz proposes to reschedule marijuana". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  23. ^ Wilson, Kirby. "Matt Gaetz to speak at medical marijuana doctors conference with Trump associate Roger Stone". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  24. ^ Sweeney, Dan (October 8, 2015). "Florida Legislature tackling the three Gs: God, gays and guns". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  25. ^ "Lawmaker wants terminally ill to have access to medical marijuana". Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. October 7, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2018. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ "Scott Signs Medical Marijuana Bill for Terminally Ill, Enabling Experimental Drugs". FlaglerLive.com. March 25, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  27. ^ a b Moghe, Sonia (February 23, 2017). "One Republican congressman's plan to deal with town hall disrupters". CNN. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  28. ^ Strickland, T.S. (February 24, 2017). "At town hall, conservative lawmaker calls on Trump to release tax returns". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  29. ^ LoBianco, Tom (February 23, 2017). "Under fire, GOP congressman calls for Trump tax returns". CNN. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  30. ^ Norton, Allie (February 23, 2017). "Gaetz meets with protesters during Santa Rosa County town hall tour". WEAR-TV. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  31. ^ Almukhtar, Sarah (19 December 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  32. ^ Sarlin, Benjy (19 December 2017). "Republican-led Congress passes sweeping tax bill". WAVY-TV. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  33. ^ Breaux, Collin (April 16, 2016). "Local political figures cautious about sea level rise". The News Herald. Panama City, Florida. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  34. ^ a b Kaufman, Alexander C. (January 31, 2017). "Florida Congressman Drafts Bill To 'Completely Abolish' The EPA". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  35. ^ McLaughlin, Tom (June 1, 2013). "Rick Scott Signs Ethanol Bill Repealing Required Percentage Statute". HuffPost. Northwest Florida Daily News. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  36. ^ "H.R.861 - To terminate the Environmental Protection Agency". February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  37. ^ Moser, Claire; Koronowski, Ryan (April 28, 2017). "The Climate Denier Caucus in Trump's Washington". ThinkProgress. Center for American Progress. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  38. ^ "Florida's Climate Change Deniers". Vice Media. April 25, 2017. Motherboard. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  39. ^ Baucum, Joseph (November 25, 2017). "After pushing bill to abolish EPA, Rep. Matt Gaetz joins Climate Solutions Caucus". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved December 14, 2017. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  40. ^ Gilbert, David (March 24, 2017). "Make or Break". Vice News. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  41. ^ Dovere, Edward-Isaac (March 25, 2017). "GOP wonders: Can it get anything done?". Politico. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  42. ^ a b "No evidence to prove Medicaid expansion fueled opioid crisis". @politifact. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  43. ^ Gaetz, Matt (March 25, 2017). "Cuomo presses GOP lawmaker on 'immaculate conception' claim". Politico. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  44. ^ "No comprehensive data available to back Gaetz's claim". @politifact. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  45. ^ Kam, Dara. "Matt Gaetz runs for U.S. Congress, blasts 'illegal immigrants' and 'Muslim terrorists'". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  46. ^ Mazza, Ed (16 January 2018). "GOP Lawmaker Matt Gaetz Slams Haiti: 'Sheet Metal And Garbage' Everywhere You Look". Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  47. ^ Jurecic, Quinta (August 1, 2017). "The House Judiciary Committee Is Hard at Work Investigating Reddit Conspiracies". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2017-08-02. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  48. ^ a b Feinberg, Ashley (July 18, 2017). "A GOP Staffer Crowdsourced an Anti-Clinton Resolution from Reddit". Wired. Retrieved 2017-08-02. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  49. ^ "Rep. Matt Gaetz Claims Evidence of a 'Palace Coup' in FBI Against Trump". LifeZette. 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  50. ^ CNN, Manu Raju and Veronica Stracqualursi,. "Sen. Johnson backs off 'secret society' claim". CNN. Retrieved 2018-01-26. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  51. ^ "Republicans Are All in on the 'Secret Society' Conspiracy Theory". Esquire. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  52. ^ Delk, Josh (January 31, 2018). "GOP rep invited alt-right activist to the State of the Union". The Hill. Retrieved 2018-01-31. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  53. ^ Colavecchio-Van Sickler, Shannon (March 30, 2008). "GOP lawmaker Don Gaetz is rising fast as a state Senate leader". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  54. ^ "Lawmaker's talk of mug shot raises questions about DUI arrest". Michael Van Sickler, Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  55. ^ Krauth, Dan; Heimeriks, Niels (July 25, 2014). "Some legislators rack up multiple speeding tickets, Scripps investigation finds". tcpalm.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 1st congressional district
2017–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States Representatives by seniority
395th 		Succeeded by
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