Well, Matt Gaetz lost again.
As Congressional records indicate, Gaetz had not one but two of his proposals for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from certain overseas locations considered — and rejected — by the House, where his own party controls the majority. The vote on the second measure was actually at the end of last month, but it didn’t seem to get a lot of attention at the time.
In short, that concurrent resolution behind which Gaetz stood would have directed that all U.S. forces be removed from Somalia, except for the personnel associated with protecting a U.S. embassy in the country. The failed vote last month was about a month after the proposal’s initial introduction in the House. A full 321 members of the House voted against Gaetz’s idea, which mirrors a general opposition in his political corner to certain U.S. intervention and action overseas, while just 102 voted in favor of it.
On Congress.gov, Gaetz is responsible for the only two recent measures listed as having failed at passage or been not agreed to in the House, though the numbers are higher for individual amendments that have been rejected by the currently GOP-controlled chamber under Kevin McCarthy’s leadership (or lack thereof). The number is still higher for underlying measures approved by the chamber, as it’s less likely something will be brought for a vote unless Republicans (controlling the House as they are) have secured the necessary votes. The first measure from Gaetz that failed so dramatically in the House would have directed that the president remove U.S. military personnel from Syria.
Gaetz’s recent record is a series of flops, like his proposal to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a federal law enforcement agency. Just eight Republicans, alongside Gaetz, were cosponsoring that initiative as of last check, and it doesn’t seem likely the idea will get very far — though it undercuts the Republican argument that they’re ardent defenders of the police as some kind of rule. In fact, the party backs “the blue” when it suits them politically. Just look at their dismissal of police concerns after the Capitol riot.
