How Matt Gaetz Helped Resolve GOP Impasse Over Controversial FBI Spy Tool With ‘Magic Elixir’ Bolstering Future Trump Reforms

Congressman Matt Gaetz believes he found the right formula for Republicans as they face a contentious session in Congress ahead of the 2024 elections.

Last week, as Republicans were deadlocked on the Foreign Information Surveillance Act (FISA) reauthorization vote in a conference call, Gaetz spoke with Speaker Johnson’s chief of staff Hayden Haynes and proposed an idea, he told DailyMail.com.

“How about instead of reauthorizing FISA for five years, as the intelligence community asked, they reduce it to just two years?” Gaetz said he asked.

Haynes and the speaker’s office proposed Gaetz’s idea to the rest of the caucus and found that they were much more receptive to the idea. A senior source in Speaker Mike Johnson’s office confirmed Gaetz’s account.

Gaetz explained his thoughts on the idea in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.

Why not give Trump a crack at reforming the controversial program if he wins his election in November?

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson

Using a baseball metaphor, Gaetz said the idea helped get Republicans to agree on a compromise.

“While it caused some consternation in both the judiciary and the intelligence community, it was a tremendous power to preserve a fight for President Donald Trump,” he said.

A re-elected President Trump, Gaetz explained, would be the perfect person to push Republicans to significantly reform FISA in the future.

“President Trump is the most famous victim of FISA abuse, so that informs his perspective more than the pearl that seizes,” he said.

Disturbing reports emerged last year that FISA’s Section 702 powers had been used ‘improperly’ 278,000 times to keep tabs on Americans and were also used to track January 6 defendants and Black Lives Matter activists.

As a result, Republicans approved an amended version containing ‘fixes’ to the program to curb abuse.

That version passed Parliament last week with a two-year extension.

The FISA reauthorization proposal must be passed by the Senate by Friday or it will expire.

Gaetz said that while he and his allies didn’t get everything they wanted on FISA reform, he was glad they were able to reduce the length of the warrant by 60 percent.

The Trump-backed MAGA congressman who led the charge to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this year appears more willing to serve as a dealmaker in Congress.

Gaetz explained that he continued to work successfully with Speaker Mike Johnson on contentious issues facing House Republicans fighting to retain their majority.

“I speak to the chairman or a member of his team every day, they don’t always agree with me but they hear me out,” he said.

The FISA fight, Gaetz argued, demonstrated a philosophy for Republicans moving forward with the idea of ​​creating key wins for Trump after the election.

“The belief among House Republicans that if you keep a fight for President Trump, there’s an opportunity for more change than we could achieve without him,” he said.

He described the philosophy as a “magic elixir” for Republicans grappling with tough issues like additional funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Gaetz said he looked forward to the plan also building momentum for the rest of the 2024 presidential campaign.

U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz uses a microphone as Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns in Iowa

Wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., with a reporter on Capitol Hill

“What creates momentum this close to a presidential contest where Trump and Biden are in, where Trump is up, is explaining to Republicans how we can prepare the battlefield for the Trump administration,” he said.

‘Not how we can limit decisions based on the Trump administration by adding beyond that.’

Trump said Friday he was “not a fan” of FISA, but gave Johnson some leeway during a news conference with the speaker at Mar-a-Lago.

‘I’m not a big fan of FISA. But I told everybody, I said, do what you want,’ Trump said.

He seemed eager to tackle more reforms in the future if he won his election as president.

“They put a lot of checks and balances on, and I guess it’s down to two years now, so it would come in the early part of my administration,” he said.