Former Representative Matt Gaetz Wears His Congressional Jacket to First Briefing with the Pentagon Press Corps

On Tuesday, December 2, Matt Gaetz appeared at a Pentagon press briefing in his new capacity as a member of the press corps. The former congressman, who resigned from the House in late 2024 after an unsuccessful attempt to become U.S. attorney general under Donald Trump, attended the session wearing a jacket marked with his former congressional title.

Gaetz, who hosts The Matt Gaetz Show on One America News Network, is now among a newly credentialed group of pro-MAGA journalists permitted to cover Pentagon events under strict pre-approval rules set by the Department of Defense. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth introduced a set of restrictions in October, requiring reporters to agree to Pentagon oversight of all coverage in order to maintain access. Mainstream outlets such as ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox, The New York Times, and others refused to comply, leading to a public walkout on October 15.

With many major outlets declining to sign, the current Pentagon press corps now consists of OANN, Real Americas Voice, Lindell TV, Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial, Human Events, National Pulse, and RedState. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell described this new cohort as "the next generation of the Pentagon press corps," encompassing independent and nontraditional media organizations.

Observers noted that Gaetz's jacket prominently displayed "Representative Matt Gaetz," highlighting his past congressional identity despite his new role as a journalist. Gaetz, first elected to represent Florida's 1st Congressional District in 2016, faced allegations of child sex trafficking and statutory rape in 2020, though the Department of Justice closed the investigation in 2023 without charges. He remained in Congress until resigning in 2024 to pursue a brief attorney general nomination, which he later withdrew.

The House Ethics Committee later issued a report alleging Gaetz paid multiple women, including a minor, for sexual activity and used illegal drugs, including from his congressional office. While the committee found substantial evidence of violations of House rules and standards of conduct, it did not conclude he had breached federal sex trafficking laws.

Author: Zoe Harrison