January 19, 2021

Honorable Kevin McCarthy

Minority Leader
House Republican Conference
U.S. House of Representatives
2468 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Honorable Liz Cheney

Chairwoman
House Republican Conference
U.S. House of Representatives
416 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: Complaint to remove Rep. Matt Gaetz from the House Armed Services Committee
Dear Minority Leader and Chairwoman:
Those who have served in the military or whose family members have served understand intimately that the
peace and stability of the post-World War II era can never be taken for granted.
While executing the doctrine of “peace through strength” is the shared responsibility of the brave men and
women of the armed forces, the intelligence community and the diplomatic corps, the civilian public and our
representatives in Congress also play an important role in maintaining America’s post-war peace and
stability.
As citizens, it is our obligation to hold Congress accountable to its oath to defend the Constitution and to its
duty to protect the institutions we all depend on for our national security. As citizens, we have a
responsibility to speak up when members directly or indirectly threaten our national security through their
extreme partisanship, conspiracy theories, attacks on our institutions or other actions that undermine our
democracy.
It is this civic duty that compels us to write today. As the leaders of veteran and military family
organizations, we are calling for the immediate removal of Representative Matt Gaetz from the House
Armed Services Committee (HASC).
As you know, the House Armed Services Committee plays a critical role in maintaining the peaceful world
order. The Committee provides vital investments for the readiness and well-being of the troops, as well as
their families on the home front. The Committee is also our community’s bridge to military institutions and
foreign policy, critical to our faith and trust in both.
As you also know, an assignment on HASC brings considerable clout and a national profile. According to
Representative Gaetz’s hometown paper the Pensacola News Journal, the Congressman “eyed a seat on the
Armed Services Committee long before voters put him in office” in 2017.1 That the House Republican
Conference would grant his political wish and tap a freshman member with no relevant experience for such
an important Committee immediately raised alarms throughout the military community.
(more)

1
Thomas St. Myer, “Gaetz to serve on Armed Services, Budget committees,” Pensacola News Journal, Jan. 10, 2017.
https://www.pnj.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/10/gaetz-serve-two-us-house-committees/96390046/
2|Page Gaetz/HASC Complaint

From our perspective, Representative Gaetz was grossly unqualified to serve on this critical Committee. The
Congressman had no national security expertise nor prior military service. He had never known the weight of
a being military spouse or parent. He had only scant professional experience as an attorney, having begun his
political career in the Florida State House just two years after passing the Florida bar in 2008.2 Moreover,
his widely reported DUI arrest and questionable fundraising practices3 raised serious concerns about Gaetz’s
character and judgement, concerns that have only grown during his four years in Congress.
The military family and veteran community largely refrained from airing our concerns about Gaetz’s
appointment in 2017, hopeful that the young Congressman would grow into his new Committee position. As
is our expectation of every member of the Committee, we looked to Representative Gaetz to conduct his new
oversight and policy responsibilities with the seriousness and good faith that our men and women in uniform
and their families deserve. We expected him to make sound policy decisions based on data, research and in
consultation with America’s national security experts, civilian and military alike. We expected him to listen
to and respect the sacrifices of our military personnel and their families who give so much to protect
America’s freedom. Above all, we expected him to hold himself to the highest moral, ethical and
professional standards.
On each count, Representative Gaetz has unequivocally failed the military community. He has not grown
into the position as we had hoped. To the contrary, the Congressman has instead used his position on the
House Armed Services Committee to grow his national profile in service of his own political aims.4
Despite his pro-military rhetoric, Rep. Gaetz’s record is one of consistently undermining the values, the
institutions and the policies that matter most to the military community. He has shown himself completely
unwilling to perform the basic oversight and legislative duties of the Committee, the very antithesis of the
military’s ethic of “service above self.” Instead of governing, Gaetz has busied himself with a starring role in
two of the ugliest chapters of American history: the unprecedented politicization of the military and the
attempted overthrow of the 2020 election. In fact, the Congressman’s involvement and indeed influence can
be traced to much of the unrest, chaos and division that currently plagues America.
The attached complaint to remove Rep. Gaetz from the House Armed Services Committee is two-part: 1)
his legislative record against America’s national interest and that of our servicemembers and their families
and 2) his long—and growing—public record of unprofessional and unethical speech and conduct, including:
1. intimidation of a congressional witness
2. attacks on intelligence and defense institutions and experts
3. ties to white supremacists and other extremist groups
4. undermining faith in the election, endeavoring to overturn its lawful results, and undermining the
peaceful transfer of power
5. undermining public health measures during a pandemic; and
6. improper use of government resources for self-promotion and personal gain.

As you can see from the enclosed 44-page complaint, this is not an isolated instance, but a pattern of
irresponsible, unprincipled leadership. We believe that if the Conference does a faithful review of Rep.
Gaetz’s record, they will have no choice but to remove him from the Committee. To retain him on the HASC
would reflect poorly on the Conference, the Committee, the Congress and ultimately the U.S. Armed
Services.
We do not make this complaint lightly or impulsively. It is a last resort. As organizations and individuals, we
have attempted to engage Rep. Gaetz about his troubling conduct and legislative record through staff, social

2
Profile of Matthew Louis Gaetz. Florida Bar Association.
3
Stephanie Mencimen, “How Matt Gaetz Used Daddy’s Money to Become Trump’s Favorite Congressman,” Mother
Jones. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/07/how-matt-gaetz-used-daddys-money-to-become-trumps-favorite-
congressman/
4
From 2016 to 2020, total contributions raised by Gaetz’s campaign increased 413%. Open Secrets.
https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00039503&cycle=CAREER&type=I
3|Page Gaetz/HASC Complaint

media and even his hometown newspaper,5 to no avail. Nor does it appear the Congressman has learned any
lessons from the admonishments by either the Florida Bar Association or the House Ethics Panel in 2019.6
It is evident that the Congressman is completely indifferent to the real impact of his dishonorable conduct,
which has only escalated since the election.
As Rep. Gaetz has repeatedly boasted on Twitter, “he wins elections.” To be clear, we are in no way
contesting the Congressman’s recent electoral victory and unequivocally respect the rights of voters in his
district to elect whomever they want to represent them, even a candidate with the record detailed here, and it
would be for the House to determine by vote whether to expel Rep. Gaetz.
But an electoral victory—no matter how decisive—does not entitle Rep. Gaetz to serve on this Committee.
The good citizens of Florida’s 1st Congressional District do not appoint members to the House Armed
Services Committee—the Republican and Democratic Conferences do. The Conference has a duty to our
men and women in uniform and their families to prioritize professional competence and moral fitness over
political ambition when assigning members to this critical Committee. It is also your duty to impose
consequences when a member of your Conference behaves in the profoundly un-American way that Rep.
Gaetz has.
We respectfully submit that Rep. Gaetz’s record prior to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election would have
been sufficient alone for the Conference to remove him from the HASC. However, as the military
community – and indeed the world – watches how the U.S. and Congressional leadership respond to these
events, it is ever more imperative that those who participated prominently in and fueled this heinous lie that
cut to the heart of our democracy are held to account. For the good of the country, Rep. Gaetz cannot be
permitted to serve on the House Armed Services Committee.
We sincerely hope you address our concerns with the urgency and respect they deserve. We look forward to
the Conference’s prompt written response to our complaint, which we will share with our members and the
military media.
Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Daniel Barkhuff, President Carrie Remis, Executive Director

Veterans for Responsible Leadership Homefront Fidelity Project
contact@vfrl.org info@homefrontfidelity.org

CC:
Rep. Adam Smith, Chairman, HASC General Mark A. Milley
Rep. Mike Rogers, Ranking Member, HASC General John Hyten
Rep. Jackie Walorski, Ranking Member, Ethics General James C. McConville
Office of Congressional Ethics Admiral Mike Gilday
General David H. Berger
Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr.
General Daniel R. Hokanson
General John Raymond
Attachment: Complaint re: Rep Gaetz Honorable Kenneth J. Braithwaite
Honorable Ryan McCarthy

5
Carrie Remis, “Gaetz squandered faith and trust of many in military community,” Pensacola News Journal, September
26, 2020, https://www.pnj.com/story/opinion/2020/09/26/gaetz-squandered-faith-and-trust-many-military-community-
guestview/5863765002/
6
See Appendix of attached complaint for documents.