Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said he has a vision for Republicans in the House of Representatives, a platform he says centers on ending wars, shutting down the border and reducing spending.
It's an effort Gaetz distills down to one idea: “I’m trying to reshape the House in my image.”
The Wall Street Journal published the interview Sunday.
The wide-ranging feature of Gaetz came after he announced his reelection campaign in Florida’s 1st Congressional District, where he has a primary opponent: Aaron Dimmock. The former Navy aviator has ties to erstwhile House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted in a campaign launched by Gaetz last fall.
Dimmock sees the House Ethics investigation into Gaetz as one vulnerability as well as Gaetz being linked to a run for governor in 2026 or a post within a second Trump administration, should the Republican presumptive nominee win in November.
“Matt Gaetz has become blinded by his ambition for higher office and his need for the spotlight and is completely distracted by the neverending ethics investigations into horrific allegations against him,” Dimmock said in a statement to the Journal.
Not so, says Gaetz.
“I am singularly focused on what the House of Representatives will look like and ensuring that Donald Trump is elected president,” he told the Journal.
Gaetz noted McCarthy’s financial backing of Dimmock, telling the Journal that if he “didn’t have Kevin McCarthy’s $10 million, he would be a laughingstock. Now he’s a laughingstock with $10 million.” The GOP primary in Florida is Aug. 20.
As for McCarthy’s successor, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., doesn’t get much love from Gaetz either.
“I like Mike personally, and it’s been very painful to be so disappointed,” Gaetz told the Journal.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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