Matt Gaetz paid for sex and drugs while in Congress, House Ethics report says: Live updates

The Ethics Committee states that “From 2017 to 2020, Rep. Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the Committee determined were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use. Payments were made to these women using peer-to-peer payment platforms such as PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp; while Representative Gaetz had accounts in his name on each of those platforms.”

Gaetz has rejected the allegations.

“In one text exchange viewed by the Committee, Rep. Gaetz balked at a woman’s request that he send her money after he accused her of ‘ditching’ him on a night when she was feeling tired, claiming she only gave him a ‘drive by.’ The woman asserted to Rep. Gaetz that she was being ‘treated differently’ than other women he was paying for sex,” the report adds.

Katie Miller will join the Trump administration’s much-watched non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, the president-elect announced on Sunday, where she will join Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in attempting to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal budget.

“She has been a loyal supporter of mine for many years, and will bring her professional experience to Government Efficiency,” Trumpwrote on Truth Social. “Katie is a deeply experienced communications professional respected by all. Congratulations to Stephen and Katie!”

Josh Marcus reports.

Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to a Washington-area hospital on Monday.

“President Clinton was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center this afternoon for testing and observation after developing a fever,” Clinton’s deputy chief of staff Angel Ureña wrote on X.

Josh Marcus is monitoring this breaking story:

House Democrats have made it clear to Speaker Mike Johnson that they won’t launch another rescue attempt to allow him to retain the speakership.

Johnson is set to have the narrowest of majorities in the next Congress and will have little room to maneuver with a caucus in which some members are angling to take him out.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has said that he’ll vote against Johnson as speaker on January 3. A number of other members of the party have said that they’re undecided, according to Axios.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Though most Americans oppose Donald Trump’s plan to pardon January 6 rioters charged with a crime, more than 4 in 10 said they support the decision, according to a new poll.

President-elect Trump has promised to issue pardons for those charged or convicted of a crime related to their actions on January 6, 2021, on his first day in office — a move that would validate his narrative of the day.

Despite the images, videos and convictions that show the tragic results of the attack on the Capitol, 43 percent of Americans said they support Trump’s decision to pardon rioters, according to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey.

Ariana Baio has the details.

Alex Woodward reports on the bombshell ethics investigation that alleges Matt Gaetz paid for sex with a high schooler, used cocaine and ecstasy, and abused the power of his office.

The former congressman denies wrongdoing.

There is “substantial evidence” that former congressman Matt Gaetz “regularly” paid women, including a high school student, for sex and spent tens of thousands of dollars on sex- and drug-fueled parties and travel, according to a damning report from members of Congress.

The long-anticipated report from a House Ethics committee investigation finds that Gaetz likely violated state laws against statutory rape and illicit drug use, as well as House rules against misconduct and abuse of office.

Between 2017 and 2020, Gaetz “regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him,” including making payments to a 17-year-old girl, the report says.

Read more:

Disney’s recent decision to pull a transgender storyline from one of its upcoming movies appears to be its latest attempt to avoid generating political controversy after the company became the center of a debate over “wokeism” last year.

The company, run by Bob Iger, has found itself in the midst of several “culture wars” over the last few years after pledging to “further strengthen our commitment to diversity and inclusion everywhere” in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

Disney chose to make its theme parks more inclusive, such as adopting more gender-neutral greetings, and has made a conscious effort to include more diverse characters, for example, introducing its first biracial gay character in Strange World.

Ariana Baio reports.