Gaetz: ‘I love’ CNN article on cause of ‘brain drain’ in Congress

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday touted his role in driving several high-profile members of Congress from the legislative body, pointing to their departures as evidence of his success.

In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Gaetz said he loves a recent CNN article that reported on the trend of “rising stars” in the Republican party retiring amid what the piece described as “GOP dysfunction” — which garnered widespread public scrutiny after a push led by Gaetz resulted in the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

The House GOP then embarked on a multiweek effort to replace the former Speaker, causing all legislative business in the lower chamber to pause.

“I love this @cnn article,” Gaetz wrote on X. “The fundamental premise is that I’ve made congress so miserable for so many members that they are leaving. Wonderful! We can’t save America with the current Republican team. We have to get tougher and smarter. We need newer, bolder voices in the House.”

“If you want to be a Paul Ryan / Kevin McCarthy Republican – THEY DON’T WORK HERE ANYMORE!” Gaetz continued. “The ‘institutional knowledge’ I’m accused of wiping out is often knowledge your lawmakers acquire to enrich themselves, trade stocks and sell out We the People.”

The CNN article quotes a number of Republican lawmakers lamenting their colleagues’ departures and expressing frustration at the difficulty they’ve had legislating.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), a McCarthy ally, told CNN he thought being part of the majority in the House would be different, saying, “I thought that some of our members would be smarter.”

“A lot of us are frustrated with what’s going on, and that’s just being flat-out honest,” he added, according to CNN. “It’s foolish. And it’s been proven to be foolish. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), who has announced he won’t run for reelection and has sometimes taken votes against his own conference, suggested to CNN that he wasn’t surprised by the retirements, saying, “They’ve signed up to do serious things. And we’re not doing serious things.”

Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.), who is also retiring, told CNN that the departures were “big losses for us,” adding, “especially for the institutional knowledge … so, that’s a big deal.”

According to The Hill’s count, at least 21 House Republicans have announced they would not seek reelection. That number includes several committee chairs, some of whom were seen as up-and-coming stars of the party. 

The departures have sparked some concern, CNN reported, about “potential brain drain” in the House. McCarthy, who retired from the lower chamber, recently said that could have been a goal of the eight Republicans, including Gaetz, who voted to oust him in the fall.

“It’s unfortunate because you think of the brain trust you are losing. I blame a lot of the ‘crazy eights’ led by Gaetz. They want to make this place dysfunctional to try to wear people out,” McCarthy told reporters recently, CNN reported.

Gaetz, in his post, suggested McCarthy was right to blame him. He celebrated his colleagues’ retirements and called for more “America First Patriots” — or supporters of former President Trump — to run for office.

“The next phase of our plan is to REPLACE the droves of retiring members with America First Patriots. Republican primary voters must do their part. We have a great nation to save. Send me more backup!” Gaetz wrote.