Matt Gaetz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Matt Gaetz
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Official portrait, 2020
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 1st district |
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| In office January 3, 2017 – November 13, 2024 |
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| Preceded by | Jeff Miller |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 4th district |
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| In office April 13, 2010 – November 8, 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Ray Sansom |
| Succeeded by | Mel Ponder |
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Matthew Louis Gaetz II
May 7, 1982 Hollywood, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Ginger Luckey
(m. 2021) |
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| Education | |
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Matthew Louis Gaetz II (born May 7, 1982) is an American politician and lawyer. He served as a U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district from 2017 until he resigned in 2024. His district covered parts of northwest Florida.
Gaetz is a member of the Republican Party. He describes himself as a libertarian populist. He is also known as a strong supporter of Donald Trump. In October 2023, Gaetz started a process that led to the removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gaetz's father, Don Gaetz, was also a well-known politician in Florida. His grandfather, Jerry Gaetz, was a politician in North Dakota. Matt Gaetz grew up in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After law school, he worked as a lawyer for a short time. He then served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2016. In 2016, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was re-elected several times.
On November 13, 2024, former President Donald Trump announced he would nominate Gaetz to be United States Attorney General. Gaetz resigned from the House of Representatives after this announcement. A week later, he decided not to be considered for the Attorney General job. Even though he had won re-election for the 119th United States Congress, he resigned before the new Congress started. In January 2025, Gaetz began hosting a political talk show on One America News Network.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Matthew Louis Gaetz II was born on May 7, 1982, in Hollywood, Florida. His parents are Victoria and Don Gaetz. He grew up near Fort Walton Beach. He went to Niceville High School.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University in 2003. In 2007, he received a law degree (Juris Doctor) from the William & Mary Law School. Gaetz became a member of the Florida Bar (which means he could practice law in Florida) in 2008.
His father, Don Gaetz, was a member of the Florida State Senate from 2006 to 2016. He was also the Senate President from 2012 to 2014. Gaetz's grandfather, Jerry Gaetz, was the mayor of Rugby, North Dakota. He also ran for lieutenant governor of North Dakota.
After law school, Gaetz worked at a law firm in Fort Walton Beach.
Serving in the Florida House of Representatives
In March 2010, Gaetz ran in a special election for the 4th district of the Florida House. The previous representative had resigned. Gaetz won the Republican primary election. Then, he won the special general election with 66 percent of the votes. He received a lot of money for his campaign, including $100,000 of his own money.
Gaetz ran unopposed (meaning no one ran against him) for a full term in 2010. He was reelected unopposed in 2012 and 2014.
While in the state house, Gaetz worked on several laws. He proposed a law that would speed up executions for inmates on Florida's death row. He also supported a law to remove the requirement that gasoline in Florida contain 10 percent ethanol. Governor Rick Scott signed this law in May 2013.
Gaetz also helped review Florida's "stand-your-ground law". This law allows people to use deadly force if they feel threatened. He said he would not change the law but would listen to different opinions. After the hearings, he wrote a law to help people who used the "stand-your-ground" defense clear their criminal records.
In 2015, Gaetz supported Jeb Bush's campaign for president. Bush was a former governor of Florida. Gaetz helped introduce a bill to move the date of the 2016 Florida Republican presidential primary earlier. This was meant to help Bush's campaign.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
Elections to Congress
In 2013, Gaetz announced he would run for the State Senate seat held by his father in 2016. However, on March 21, 2016, he changed his mind. He decided to run for the U.S. House seat representing Florida's 1st congressional district instead. The current representative, Jeff Miller, had announced he would not run again.
On August 30, 2016, Gaetz won the Republican primary election with 35.7 percent of the votes. This meant he was almost certain to win the general election. The 1st district is one of the most Republican districts in the country.
In the general election on November 8, Gaetz won against the Democratic candidate, Steven Specht, with 69 percent of the votes. He is only the seventh person to represent this district since 1933.
Gaetz donated $200,000 of his own money to his congressional campaign. He also closed two political action committees (PACs) he had started. These PACs transferred $380,000 to a federal super PAC that supported his campaign.
Time in Office
After the death of baseball player José Fernández, Gaetz criticized athletes who were protesting during the national anthem. This was in a tweet on September 25, 2016.
Gaetz was a top advisor for Ron DeSantis during his campaign for governor of Florida in 2018. He helped with debate preparations and early policy decisions.
In April 2019, Gaetz hired Darren Beattie as a speechwriter. Beattie had previously worked for the Trump administration.
Gaetz attended political rallies in 2018 and 2019 where members of the Proud Boys group were present.
After the 2020 State of the Union Address, Gaetz filed a complaint against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. He said she broke rules by tearing up her copy of the speech.
In February 2020, Gaetz announced he would no longer accept money for his campaigns from federal political action committees.
Gaetz and Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene started an "America First Tour" in May 2021. During this tour, they repeated false claims about the 2020 election. They also criticized "Big Tech" companies. At one event, they said the Second Amendment was for "maintaining... the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government."
In June 2021, Gaetz was one of 21 House Republicans who voted against giving the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers. These officers had defended the U.S. Capitol during the attack on January 6.
In February 2023, Gaetz invited Corey Ryan Beekman to lead the pledge of allegiance at a committee hearing. Beekman had been charged with murder in 2019. Gaetz later apologized to the victim's family.
2023 Speaker Election
After the 2022 elections, Republicans had a small majority in the House. Kevin McCarthy wanted to become Speaker, but he needed more votes. Some members of the Freedom Caucus, including Gaetz, did not vote for McCarthy for many rounds. They wanted changes to House rules. Gaetz even nominated former President Trump for Speaker several times. After 14 votes, on the 15th ballot, Gaetz changed his vote to "present." This lowered the number of votes McCarthy needed, allowing him to become Speaker.
Removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker
On October 2, 2023, Gaetz introduced a resolution to remove McCarthy as Speaker. This happened after McCarthy worked with Democrats to pass a temporary spending bill. This bill avoided a government shutdown but did not include some spending cuts that conservatives wanted. Gaetz's resolution passed with a vote of 216 to 210, and McCarthy was removed.
Committee Roles
For the 118th Congress, Matt Gaetz served on these committees:
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation
- Subcommittee on Military Personnel
- Committee on the Judiciary
- Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance
- Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust
- Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government
Groups He Joined
Gaetz was a member of several groups in Congress:
- Congressional Blockchain Caucus
- El Salvador Caucus
- Freedom Caucus
- Republican Study Committee
Nomination for Attorney General
President-elect Trump announced on November 13, 2024, that he would nominate Gaetz to be United States attorney general. Gaetz resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives shortly after this announcement. Many Republican Senators did not support his nomination. They were concerned about his qualifications.
On November 21, 2024, Gaetz announced on X that he was no longer seeking the Attorney General position. He said he wanted to avoid making Trump's transition to the presidency more difficult. The next day, he confirmed he would not join the 119th Congress, even though he had won re-election. He officially resigned in writing.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis asked for a special election to be held in Gaetz's former district. This is the normal process when a House seat becomes empty due to a resignation.
One America News Network
In January 2025, Gaetz started hosting a political talk show. It is called The Matt Gaetz Show and airs on One America News Network on weeknights.
Political Views
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Gaetz describes himself as a libertarian populist. His political views have also been called nationalist.
In September 2022, Gaetz said that if Republicans won control of the House, they should focus on investigating Democrats. He said investigations should be a higher priority than making new laws to support lobbyists.
Donald Trump
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Matt Gaetz has been a strong supporter of Donald Trump. In April 2018, Politico called Gaetz "one of the most enthusiastic defenders of President Trump."
In February 2017, Gaetz held a town hall meeting. He was worried about protesters. He printed parts of his speech on large boards to hold up if he could not speak. At the meeting, people asked him about his relationship with Trump. They also asked about his plan to get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency. Gaetz ended the meeting by shouting Trump's 2016 campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again".
In May 2018, Gaetz was one of 18 House Republicans who voted to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. This was for Trump's role in peace talks with North Korea.
In February 2020, Gaetz said he would support a pardon for Trump's associate, Roger Stone.
Gaetz is on the House Judiciary Committee. In October 2019, he was not allowed to attend a closed-door meeting related to the Trump impeachment inquiry. He said that because his committee oversees impeachment, he should have been allowed to be there.
First Impeachment of Donald Trump
In October 2019, Gaetz led about two dozen Republican congressmen in a "storming" of a secure facility on Capitol Hill. They wanted to listen to a Pentagon official's testimony during the impeachment inquiry against Trump. The congressmen brought cell phones and other devices, which put the secure facility at risk.
One committee member said it was like "mass civil unrest." The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee asked the House sergeant-at-arms to take action against Gaetz and others. The disruption delayed the official's testimony for many hours.
Second Impeachment of Donald Trump
On January 7, 2021, after a crowd attacked the Capitol, Gaetz falsely claimed that some attackers were not Trump supporters. He said they were "masquerading as Trump supporters" and were members of the group antifa. Gaetz later admitted he did not know "if the reports are true." His claim that "antifa" was responsible for the attack was false.
Gaetz voted against the second impeachment of Donald Trump.
Economy
Gaetz voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He said that many Americans would benefit when real estate business became easier.
Environment
In 2016, Gaetz agreed that global warming was happening. However, he disagreed with the scientific idea that human activity is the main cause.
In January 2017, Gaetz proposed a law to get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency. He said it hurt small businesses because of the costs of following its rules.
In November 2017, Gaetz joined the Climate Solutions Caucus. He said he supported new technologies and economic ideas to deal with climate change. He also wanted more federal money for global warming research. However, he still opposed more environmental rules.
In 2019, Gaetz introduced the Super Pollutants Act. This law aimed to slow climate change by controlling certain greenhouse gases. These gases, like black carbon and methane, are much stronger than carbon dioxide.
Foreign Policy
Myanmar
In 2021, Gaetz was one of 14 House Republicans who voted against a measure that condemned the Myanmar coup d'état. The reasons for his vote were not clear.
Middle East
In June 2021, Gaetz was one of 49 House Republicans who voted to end the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.
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In December 2017, Gaetz supported Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. He said this would pressure Palestine to recognize Israel.
In 2019, Gaetz was one of 60 representatives who voted against condemning Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Syria.
In April 2019, Gaetz was one of nine lawmakers who asked Trump to end U.S. military involvement in the conflict in Yemen.
Health Care
In June 2021, Gaetz introduced the Digital Health Pass Prevention Act (DHPPA). This bill aimed to stop federal money from being used for digital health passes. It was sent to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
COVID-19
On March 9, 2020, Gaetz's office reported that he had been near someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Because of this, Gaetz went into self-quarantine for 14 days. On March 10, he said his test was negative.
On April 14, Gaetz said the Wuhan Institute of Virology "birthed a monster." This was about the idea that COVID-19 came from a Chinese research lab. He also claimed that the National Institutes of Health had given the Institute a grant.
In December 2020, Gaetz attended an indoor conference in Jersey City, New Jersey. This was during a time when COVID-19 cases were rising. He was seen taking photos in a crowd of people without masks. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop criticized him for this.
Immigration
Gaetz is against sanctuary cities. These are cities that choose not to use local police to arrest people just because they are undocumented.
In October 2018, Gaetz falsely claimed that George Soros paid for a group of migrants from Central America to travel to the United States.
LGBT Rights
As a Florida state representative in 2015, Gaetz supported a change to repeal Florida's ban on adoptions by same-sex couples. He also convinced his father, who was in the Florida State Senate, to support this change.
After the U.S. Supreme Court made Obergefell v. Hodges law in 2015, which made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, Gaetz said he disagreed with the ruling. He believed each state should decide on its own whether to allow same-sex marriage. He called the decision "judicial activism" and "a threat to our democracy."
During the 116th Congress, Gaetz voted against the Equality Act.
Big Tech
In 2022, Gaetz was one of 39 Republicans who voted for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022. This law aimed to stop large companies from acting in ways that prevent fair competition.
Firebrand Book and Podcast
Gaetz published a book in 2020 and started a podcast in 2021, both called Firebrand. In both, he criticizes former House Speaker Paul Ryan. He blames Ryan for canceling a TV show called Lou Dobbs Tonight.
Personal Life
In December 2020, Gaetz announced he was engaged to Ginger Luckey. She is the sister of Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey. They got married in August 2021. Gaetz is a Baptist.
He has often said that he considers his ex-girlfriend's younger brother, Nestor Galbán, to be like family. Although Gaetz has called Galbán his son in the past, they are not related by blood or legally.
Images for kids
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Matt Gaetz's signature
