
'He really jumped on the Trump train': How a brash Matt Gaetz climbed the ranks in Trump's Washington
CNN
Rep. Matt Gaetz, attempting to stare down a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations, is reaching for a familiar, in-your-face strategy perfected over the last four years by the man who fueled his unconventional rise, former President Donald Trump.
Hours after news of the investigation went public, the Florida Republican went on Fox News to deny any wrongdoing and claim he was the victim of an elaborate extortion scheme. Then he wrote an op-ed declaring he "absolutely" would not resign. Gaetz's campaign sent out fundraising pleas blaming the media for trying to take him down. And on Friday, Gaetz is keeping plans for a longstanding speaking engagement that will unfold squarely in the public eye. It just so happens to be located at the Trump National Doral golf resort, the Miami property of the former president himself.
The retired Air Force general announced as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump after the abrupt Friday night firing of his predecessor is a respected career F-16 pilot who is described by current and former officials who served with him as a professional with a “strong moral center.”
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Over the past 10 days, Vice President JD Vance put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on notice, rattled the confidence of century-old allies in Western Europe during his first foreign trip, decamped to Capitol Hill to help in delicate budget talks and delivered a spirited defense of the Trump administration’s first month to a gathering of conservatives outside the nation’s capital.