March 9, 2020

Matt Gaetz Wore a Gas Mask to Mock Coronavirus Concerns. Now He’s in Quarantine.

The Florida representative met with a someone infected with coronavirus at CPAC.

Michael Brochstein/Zuma

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Last week, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) wore a gas mask on the House floor while voting on emergency funding in response to the coronavirus, apparently making light of the near-pandemic that has shaken the stock market and killed thousands of people worldwide. Now, Gaetz is under self-quarantine after having come in contact with an infected individual at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

One of Gaetz’s constituents died of the virus, according to the Washington Post. In response to criticism, Gaetz denied that he wore the mask to “make light” of the coronavirus. But after the vote last week, he took to Twitter to explain that he didn’t like the bill, despite voting for it in the end.

Gaetz is not experiencing symptoms, but he has been tested for the virus. He was in close contact with President Trump over the weekend, the New York Times reports. Gaetz learned that he had been in contact with an infected person when he was on board Air Force One, the Times reports, “then essentially quarantined himself, sitting in a section of the plane alone.” That usually does the trick!

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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