NEW: Former Trump White House and GOP officials who loathe the loquacious and pugilistic Matt Gaetz were gloating his turn in the sex scandal spotlight. businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-sex… by the @thisisinsider DC bureau crew ($)
Our lede: Matt Gaetz was looking for a scandal.
It was March 25, and the Florida congressman responded to a tweet from the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who had asked no one in particular, "If there's ever a scandal about me, *please* call it Elongate."
"I want Gaetzgate," the Florida Republican tweeted.
On Tuesday, Gaetz got exactly that, as reports surfaced that the 38-year old congressman is under investigation for possible sex trafficking.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and violated federal laws against sex trafficking in the process, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Not long after, "Gaetzgate" was trending on Twitter. And former Trump White House and GOP officials who loathe the loquacious and pugilistic Gaetz were gloating.
One former senior Trump White House aide was on multiple text chains with former colleagues gossiping about the deluge of news about Gaetz's legal predicament.
The former Trump aides aren't necessarily happy to see the three-term lawmaker in trouble, but they "feel a little vindicated," the former White House staffer told Insider. "He's the meanest person in politics."
A former congressional aide said GOP leaders could soon be rid of the self-styled provocateur without having to get their hands dirty.
"Republican leadership will likely watch him completely implode in a matter of days without having to do a thing," the observer told Insider.
"Good riddance," said another former Trump White House aide. "It sounds like he let whatever BS power he thought he had go to his head and he thought himself above the law."
Gaetz denied any wrong-doing in an official statement pointing fingers all over the place. "I demand the DOJ immediately release the tapes, made at their direction, which implicate their former colleague in crimes against me based on false allegations," he said.
In Florida, Republicans acted cautiously to the Gaetz news.
"I'm an Episcopal priest now," said Allison DeFoor, a former a county sheriff and vice chair of the Florida GOP. "I will pray for him. That's all I can do."
Others in FLA swung back.
"I can tell you I no more believe this bullshit than I can fly to the moon and I think everyone is going to be totally embarrassed when this thing is over," added Suzanne Harris, a Florida activist who has used Gaetz as an attorney.
NEW: Trump & his advisors are vacillating between deep concern & cavalier confidence over his possible legal exposure and the ever-present possibility he could end up in the history books as the first POTUS — current or former — ever to be indicted. ($) businessinsider.com/trump-legal-je…
Alongside a rotating cast of attorneys, Trump has warily watched as local Georgia and New York investigators escalate their probes connected to both his slapdash efforts to hold onto the presidency despite losing the 2020 election and his namesake company's finances.
Notably, the ex-president is also hearing from advisors that he faces little actual legal risk from the January 6 rioting at the Capitol, according to a dozen advisors, legal experts and Republicans close to the former president.
ICYMI: A couple of gem quotes in this story from last night worth flagging: "I'm an Episcopal priest now," Allison DeFoor, a former county sheriff and vice chair of the Florida GOP, said. "I will pray for him. That's all I can do." businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-sex… ($) @thisisinsider
"The congressman is one of those that came to Washington to make an impression for fame and fortune rather than accomplishing anything in Washington for his constituents," a national Republican campaign consultant who works in Florida politics said.
"He's not in the legislative business. He's just out there to blow s--- up and get on TV," one Republican US House staffer told Insider.
NEW: Grover Norquist will still eviscerate you for even thinking about raising taxes. But might his next act involve orchestrating wins on divisive issues like immigration & criminal justice reform w/o giving an inch on Biden's $ agenda? by @WARojas ($) businessinsider.com/grover-norquis…
The timing is right, admirers told @thisisinsider for the "Leave Us Alone" coalition-builder to showcase Norquist's problem-solving skills.
Dems are calling the shots on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. The White House is floating tax hikes to finance government-funded projects ranging from improving battered roads to expanding broadband internet coverage for underserved communities.
Database nerds will enjoy the list of every Article III judge in the court system, broken down by which POTUS appointed them.
Every two-term president since Ronald Reagan has appointed at least 320 judges with lifetime appointments, but Trump bucked the trend and installed nearly 70% of that in just one term. In only four years, Trump installed approximately 28% of all the Article III judges.
NEW: At least 56 alumni of the Center for American Progress are working inside the White House & agencies across the US government, per a @thisisinsider analysis of administration announcements & career networking sites. by @rbravender & @leonardkl ($) businessinsider.com/biden-staff-ce…
They're not just any government jobs, either: CAP alumni fill some of the most important positions in Washington. Among them are President Joe Biden's new secretary of Veterans Affairs, the top White House economic policy advisor, and the chief of staff at the Pentagon.
Even Biden's chief of staff, Ron Klain, served on the board of the think tank's political arm. And CAP's most visible member, President & CEO Neera Tanden, would be serving as WH budget director, but the admin pulled her nomination in the face of opposition from Senate Rs.
Since late Feb, a small band of insiders led by Donald Trump Jr. and Bill Stepien have established themselves as gatekeepers for who gets endorsed & how fast those endorsements roll out, according to interviews with more than a half dozen Republican strategists & Trump advisors.
"One month ago, there were nine ways to win an endorsement. Now that's being winnowed down to just one," said one Republican working on 2022 congressional midterm races.