Matt Gaetz quietly tapped to replace Chip Roy on ‘weaponization’ committee
Virginia Aabram
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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) quietly took Rep. Chip Roy’s (R-TX) place on the new subcommittee investigating the “weaponization” of the federal government.
No announcement was made of the change last week, and it was only noticed when reporters read it in the Congressional Record on Tuesday. No reason was given for the switch, but Roy is also serving on two other demanding panels.
HOUSE GOP’S ‘WEAPONIZATION’ COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES FIRST HEARING
A lawmaker told NBC that Roy realized he would be stretched too thin between the duties of the Rules Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
“I admire Chip for recognizing his limits,” the source said.
Gaetz’s appointment to the new, high-profile panel comes after he furiously tried to keep Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from becoming speaker. McCarthy has the final say over appointments on the subcommittee and seemingly made good on his promise not to retaliate against his detractors.
Roy also started off the speakership election last month by voting against McCarthy, but he eventually secured the rules concessions he wanted and wound up voting for McCarthy on the last several ballots.
There were 20 detractors from the conservative wing of the GOP, and Roy helped broker a deal between 14 of them and McCarthy, who needed nearly all Republican votes, given the House’s slim GOP majority.
Gaetz and five other holdouts kept the drama going for several more ballots before they collectively voted “present,” with Gaetz admitting that he was running out of things to ask for from McCarthy.
On the second-to-last ballot, Gaetz voted last and kept McCarthy from securing the gavel yet again. This was followed by a tense exchange between McCarthy and Gaetz on the House floor, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), a McCarthy ally, had to be restrained physically from approaching Gaetz.
Gaetz was under FBI investigation for several years for allegations of underage sex trafficking, but no charges were brought forward. Gaetz denies any wrongdoing.
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The weaponization panel is a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, of which Gaetz is already a member, and its goal is to investigate the federal government’s alleged targeting of conservatives. The opening hearing on Thursday will feature testimony from former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and former FBI special agent Nicole Parker.
The subcommittee is expected to tackle problems ranging from the Department of Justice labeling parents protesting school boards as domestic terrorists to the interactions between Twitter and government agencies over the suppressed Hunter Biden laptop story.