Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has emerged as a conservative firebrand and one of former President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies since winning his congressional seat in the same 2016 election that brought Trump to power.
He’s become one of the most recognizable and polarizing House of Representative members, thanks in part to his outspoken support of Trump and MAGA positions.
Recently, his profile’s grown even larger, as he led the first-ever successful bid to oust a Speaker of the House, when his efforts brought down Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
And for those who wonder what Matt Gaetz’s height is, we have a definitive answer that ties back to his arrest on DUI charges in 2008.
Who is Matt Gaetz?
Matt Gaetz sits on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, where his work, according to his official bio, focuses on “national security, veterans’ affairs, and adherence to constitutional principles.”
Before becoming a member of Congress in 2017, Gaetz “worked as an attorney in Northwest Florida with the Keefe, Anchors & Gordon law firm, where he advocated for a more open and transparent government,” his bio notes. “In 2010, Matt was elected to serve in the Florida House of Representatives to represent portions of Okaloosa and Santa Rosa [counties].”
The bio notes that there, “He was chairman of the Finance and Tax Committee, where he authored and passed $1 billion in tax cuts, all while balancing the state budget and repealing or replacing over 4,000 regulations. Matt also served as chairman of the Criminal Justice Subcommittee, where he authored and passed some of America’s toughest penalties against violent sexual predators.”
Gaetz’s life outside of work, though, is prone to salacious headlines, including allegations that he “sent $900 on Venmo to a political ally who is an alleged sex trafficker, who then turned around and sent the money to teenage girls,” a revelation that came amid the backdrop of a Justice Department investigation into “whether he trafficked a 17-year-old girl whom he was having a sexual relationship with.”
The Daily Dot also reported on a Gaetz stunt, in the beginning days of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which he wore a gas mask on the House floor “during a vote on a funding bill to help fight the spread of coronavirus.”
Matt Gaetz height
When it comes to determining how tall Matt Gaetz really is, X has actually clouded the issue.
A March 30, 2022 tweet from @TitusNation, showing Gaetz with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), contends that Gaetz lists his height at 5’7″, while Jordan lists his “at 5’7” to 6ft” before observing, “If you can’t be honest about [your] own height, you’re perfect for Congress.”
It’s unclear where the account got the claim Gaetz is 5’7″, as he’s shown towering over Jordan.
Another tweeter, Luke Gemma, claimed to be 6’1″ in a tweet showing him in a photo with Gaetz. Gemma said there, “As you can see, Gaetz is at least 2 inches taller than me.”
But police in Florida got a measurement in 2008 that became part of the public record. Snopes, fact-checking a meme claiming Gaetz had seven DUIs on his record, included the arrest report from his 2008 DUI charge in the story. The file shows his birthdate (May 7, 1982), his height (6’2″), and his weight (192 pounds).
So there you have it. Matt Gaetz is 6’2″ tall.
A number of publications, including the Tampa Bay Times, brought that case back into the spotlight in 2019 after Gaetz called out then-candidate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, for his substance abuse history.
The Times also re-ran its 2014 story on Gaetz’s DUI in its entirety, which was prompted that year by a Florida House bill “that would keep mug shots of people who are charged with crimes off the Internet until they are convicted.”
The story went on to detail how Gaetz was not convicted for the DUI.
In fact, as it reported, “Charges against Gaetz were dismissed after events that included, among other things, the forced resignation of the arresting officer.”
Although Gaetz’s mugshot is widely available, Florida eventually passed a bill that allows people to request their mugshots be removed from sites.
Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance.
