Who is controversial US politician Matt Gaetz? The Trump supporter ousted House speaker Kevin McCarthy and echoes MAGA talking points – but also supports weed legalisation and adopted a kid from Cuba
- A ‘big-time user’ of weed, Matt Gaetz is the son of ex-senator Don Gaetz, and grew up in the house featured in Jim Carrey’s The Truman Show; he was investigated for sex trafficking in 2021
- He’s allied with Marjorie Taylor Greene, invited a Holocaust denier to Trump’s State of the Union address, and told abortion supporters they were less likely to get pregnant as they were unattractive
Last year, McCarthy was ousted from his position as speaker for the United States House of Representatives – a move spearheaded by Gaetz.
At the same time, Gaetz has supported the legalisation of medical marijuana in Florida and “adopted” a young boy from Cuba.
Matt Gaetz advocated for controversial bills
Gaetz, 42, worked as an attorney in Northwest Florida with the Keefe, Anchors & Gordon law firm before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2010, where he is currently serving his fourth term, per his official bio.
During his tenure, he has advocated for several controversial bills, including supporting the “stand your ground” law – which decrees that people may use deadly force to defend against certain violent crimes – as well as expediting executions of prisoners on Florida’s death row, per ABC.
He also supported removing a ban on adoptions by same-sex couples and, per BBC, famously convinced his father, ex-senator Don Gaetz, to do the same. According to the New Yorker, Gaetz played a key role in helping draft legislation for the legalisation of medical marijuana in his home state of Florida. “Matt was a big-time proponent of marijuana, and a big-time user,” a former Republican official told the publication.
