- Rep. Matt Gaetz once said he took erectile dysfunction drugs with sports drinks, says a GOP senator.
- Sen. Markwayne Mullin told CNN on Wednesday that Gaetz said he did it "so he could go all night."
Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma said on Wednesday that Rep. Matt Gaetz once boasted to other lawmakers about consuming erectile dysfunction drugs with sports drinks.
"He bragged about how he would crush E.D. medicine and chase it with energy drinks so he could go all night," Mullin told CNN's Manu Raju. "This is obviously before he got married."
Earlier in the interview, Mullin referenced a prior occasion in 2021 when Gaetz was suspected of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
"This is a guy that the media didn't give the time of day to after he was accused of sleeping with an underage girl," Mullin said.
"And there's a reason why no one in the conference came and defended him," Mullin continued. "Because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor, that all of us had walked away, of the girls he had slept with."
The Justice Department in 2021 began investigating allegations that Gaetz sexually trafficked a minor, though prosecutors eventually did not recommend that the Florida congressman be charged.
CNN separately reported in April 2021 that Gaetz had showed his fellow lawmakers nude photos of women he claimed he had slept with, while bragging about his sexual exploits.
Mullin, for his part, told CNN on Wednesday that he thinks Gaetz was so insistent on ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy because he wanted to be in the spotlight.
"All of a sudden he found fame because he opposed the speaker of the House back in November. And he's always stayed there," Mullin said. "And he was never gonna leave until he got this last moment of fame by going after a motion to vacate."
On Tuesday, Gaetz told Fox News's Laura Ingraham that removing McCarthy wasn't "personal."
"I wish him well," Gaetz told Ingraham. "I hope he finds fruitful pastures, and I'm certain he will."
The removal of McCarthy has left the House leaderless, with Rep. Patrick Henry of North Carolina currently serving as acting speaker. McCarthy said this week that he will not seek the speakership again.
The lack of a duly elected speaker means Congress may be unable to avert a partial government shutdown come November 17. Lawmakers need to come to an agreement on longer-term government funding after passing a short-term continuing resolution on Saturday.
Representatives for Gaetz and Mullin did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.