On October 23, Rep. Matt Gaetz, along with fellow Florida Rep. Ross Spano and with the blessing of the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, barged into a secure room designed to allow members of Congress to be briefed on classified and sensitive information. Storming the room was widely condemned and has alarmed national security experts. One scholar from the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute has even called for Gaetz expulsion from the House.
Here is what experts, reporters, and elected leaders are saying about Gaetz storming a classified briefing:
Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and contributing editor at the Atlantic called on Gaetz to be expelled from the House:
“It is impossible to overstate the outrageous, traitorous behavior of these miscreants. Matt Gaetz should be expelled from the House.”
Matthew Miller, MSNBC justice and security analyst:
“Matt Gaetz storming a SCIF to shut down an investigation, Matt Whitaker stating abuse of power is not a crime, and Trump’s lawyer arguing he can’t even be investigated for shooting someone really is the perfect encapsulation of the GOP’s current attitude towards the rule of law.”
Eric Geller, cybersecurity reporter for Politico:
“Objectively speaking, Republicans violated the SCIF’s security rules and took a classified briefing hostage to demand access to which they’re not entitled. The destruction of basic governance norms continues apace.”
Sam Brodey, reporter at the Daily Beast:
“Matt Gaetz says he’s about to lead this phalanx of House Republicans into the SCIF to check out what’s going on with the whole impeachment thing.”
Oliver Willis, senior writer at Shareblue:
“Matt Gaetz demands ‘transparency’ after helping shield Trump’s taxes for months.”
“This stunt from House Republicans is designed to intimidate people from revealing the truth—hardly the hallmark of a democracy. It’s outrageous—but not surprising—behavior.”
Tommy Vietor, cohost of Pod Save America:
“Matt Gaetz is the Jacob Wohl of Congress.”