Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) blamed the revolving door between the federal government and K Street for the public’s lack of trust in the government.
Gaetz tore into a witness who works for a progressive public relations and strategy firm at House Republicans’ first “weaponization” subcommittee hearing on Thursday. The inaugural hearing aired out the GOP panel’s grievances over the alleged politicization of federal agencies such as the Department of Justice.
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He asked Elliot Williams, a principal at the Raben Group and former DOJ employee during the Obama administration, if the “revolving door” between government officials and lobbyists was a valid cause for concern. Williams said he didn’t understand the premise of the question.
“It’s pretty easy — there’s a revolving door between senior officials at the DOJ and the lobbying profession,” Gaetz responded, pointing out that the Raben Group’s client list includes Google, Pfizer, and the Open Society Foundations, which is backed by left-wing donor George Soros. House Republicans accuse outside actors of colluding with the federal government to stifle or oppose conservatives.
“Does Google engage with the FBI, Mr. Williams?” Gaetz asked. Williams said he did not work for either and could not speak to any involvement.
“Well, gosh, I’d have to again point you to your own client list that you advertise on your own website, which includes Google,” Gaetz said, adding, “I would think that maybe one of the legislative initiatives we could pursue would be to tighten this revolving door that folks at Pfizer and folks at Big Tech seem to freely acknowledge and which you seem to be the incarnate of the revolving door.”
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The first hearing of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government featured testimony from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI), former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and two ex-FBI agents.
Gaetz was a last-minute addition to the subcommittee, taking over Rep. Chip Roy’s (R-TX) place when Roy decided he had too many committee commitments.
