Matt Gaetz and 19 Other Republicans Vote Against Reauthorizing Sex Trafficking Law

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to reauthorize the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which has been repeatedly green-lit by Congress and every president since its passage in 2000.

The bill passed 401-20 on Tuesday.

Among other provisions, the law requires the Department of State to include reports on sex trafficking in other countries and it requires the president to maintain a task force on sex trafficking to be maintained by the Secretary of State.

All 20 votes against the measure were cast by Republicans, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who, according to a report last year is under investigation by the Department of Justice as to whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old who may have been trafficked for the purpose of engaging in sex.

Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

“I have never, ever paid for sex,” he said last year. “And second, I, as an adult man, have not slept with a 17-year-old,” he said. “It comes as no surprise that my political opponents want to sensationalize and criminalize my prior sex life just as I am getting engaged to the best person I’ve ever known. It is regrettable that the battle of ideas should thus become so personal.”

Other Republicans to vote against reauthorization include, Lauren Boebert (CO), Mo Brooks (AL), Andrew Clyde (GA), Paul Gosar (AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Thomas Massie (KY), and Troy Nehls (TX).