This week, a bombshell New York Times report revealed that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is being investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly having sexual relations with a minor and for sex trafficking. Now, according to a new report, the Florida Republican is receiving little to no support from his GOP colleagues due to his notoriously caustic personality.
“Matt Gaetz has always been open that he didn’t go to Washington to make friends. But after news broke that the FBI is investigating the Florida Republican for potential sex trafficking, Gaetz found few people willing to defend him or lend credence to his claim that he’s done nothing wrong but instead is being extorted and smeared,” NBC News reported Thursday.
“Instead of circling the wagons and reflexively declaring ‘fake news’ about the investigation, first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by NBC News, Republican leaders and opinion-makers are mostly staying quiet or letting Gaetz, a strong ally of former President Donald Trump, flap in the breeze,” reporter Alex Seitz-Wald explained.
Gaetz notoriously flew to Wyoming in an effort oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the chair of the House Republican Conference.
“The most vocal defense has come from the likes of Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a former wrestling coach who has faced his own allegations of ignoring sexual misconduct by a doctor who treated student-athletes, which Jordan has denied,” NBC reported. “Despite his high profile among the conservative grassroots, Gaetz has few friends on Capitol Hill, according to multiple Republican aides and operatives.”
