Matt Gaetz

Matthew Louis Gaetz II (/ɡeɪts/ GAYTS; born May 7, 1982) is an American politician, lawyer, and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district from 2017 until his resignation in 2024. His district included all of Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties, and portions of Walton County. A member of the Republican Party and a self-described libertarian populist, Gaetz is widely regarded as a proponent of far-right politics as well as a staunch ally of Donald Trump. In October 2023, Gaetz filed a motion to vacate that led to the removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The son of prominent Florida politician Don Gaetz and grandson of North Dakota politician Jerry Gaetz, Gaetz was raised in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After graduating from William & Mary Law School, he briefly worked in private practice before running for state representative. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 until 2016, and received national attention for defending Florida's "stand-your-ground law". In 2016, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was re-elected in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024.