Former Congressman Matt Gaetz recently exposed the dynamic between lawmakers and lobbyists. According to Gaetz, congressional leaders’ family members often become lobbyists, suggesting they monetize their family relationships to influence legislation with cash. As a result, commentators have called for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to investigate the matter.
While participating in an event with Turning Point USA founder and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Gaetz was asked, “These lobbyists, what are they doing on a daily basis? Like a day in the life of a lobbyist? What the lobbyists do?” The former GOP representative said, “Like a lobbyist would wake up and then go to a breakfast where they would hand members of Congress, you know, 1000 bucks, 2000 bucks, up to 5000 bucks, and they and they for their campaign.”
Gaetz continued, “And right as they’re delivering the money, they make a specific ask. ‘Congressman, we really need you to sign on to this amendment. We really need this bill filed,’ and they go around and do it.” He noted that it was “hilarious” to observe the various entities that participated in lobbying efforts.
“And it was just for me, like, when I first got there, before I swore off the money, it was hilarious, because we’d be like this, we are Lockheed Martin. ‘We’d like you to support this weapon system.’ And like the next group, like, ‘We’re the Cannabis Association of America,’ and I just brought together the weirdest of people.”
Gaetz went on, “So that’s what they’ll do in the morning, and then they work the halls throughout the day with staff members who hope to one day become lobbyists, saying, you know, ‘we were there for the for the breakfast fundraiser, and you know, your member really said they’d sign on to this letter for us or institute this amendment,’ and then they would extract those demands.”
Speaking about relatives of Congress members, Gaetz said, “The other thing that lobbying firms have figured out is you don’t even need to use the campaign finance system if you hire people’s otherwise unemployable family members.” Substantiating his point, he added, “The number of spouses and children of members of Congress who become lobbyists is astonishing. Like Senator Richard Burr of former senator from North Carolina, his wife and son both became lobbyists, and he was the chairman of the Intelligence Committee.”
Gaetz concluded, “So like, how would you feel if your interests were adverse to the people who were paying the chairman of the intelligence committee’s wife and kid? Do you think that they had special persuasion skills, or was it their familial relationship that they were monetizing.”
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Watch Gaetz below:
The popular X account Wall Street Apes shared the clip, writing, “DOGE should look into this. This is the very definition of government fraud and waste. Think of how many secret deals are costing taxpayers billions.” The post sparked discourse from numerous conservatives supporting a DOGE investigation.
One user commented on the clip, “Spot on—DOGE should expose this cesspool of fraud. Lobbyists bribing Congress with cash and cushy jobs for their families is theft from taxpayers. Burr’s clan profiting off his seat proves it’s a racket. Swamp’s begging to be drained. 
”
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.