 March 30, 2021 | by Chris Cillizza, Lauren Dezenski and Sonnet Swire Matt Gaetz has zero interest in being in Congress  In the before times in the Republican Party, getting elected to Congress was a massive accomplishment -- a sign that you had made it. Spending a decade or two accruing the seniority and know-how to get things done and put your imprint on the nation's laws was seen as the highest of callings.
Those days are gone. Now, many newly elected Republican House members see a seat in Congress as a means to a more lucrative end -- a chance to build their, uh, brand, widen their fundraising base and raise their profile in order to get the real prize: A well-paying gig on a conservative media network.
The Ur example of this trend comes in the form of a brassy and bouffanted Florida congressman named Matt Gaetz.
Since his arrival in Congress in 2017, Gaetz has shown far more interest and passion in appearing on Fox News to dunk on Democrats than in actually trying to, you know, legislate.
To the end, he's best known for his antics -- wearing a gas mask on the House floor to make a mockery of the concerns about the spread of Covid-19 last spring -- than he is for actually doing his job of representing the people of northwest Florida.
And so, it comes as no surprise that Gaetz, according to Axios, is seriously contemplating leaving Congress entirely for an on-air gig on Newsmax, the conservative cable channel owned by Chris Ruddy, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump.
"Gaetz has told some of his allies he's interested in becoming a media personality, and floated taking a role at Newsmax," reported Alayna Treene on Tuesday.
"I love my district. I love representing them," Gaetz said. "But I view this cancellation of the Trump presidency and the Trump movement as one of the major risks to my people, both in my district and all throughout this great country."
Whether or not Gaetz leaves Congress for Newsmax or some other opportunity, it's become quite clear that he has lost interest in doing the whole "Congress thing" -- if he ever had any interest in it to begin with.
And he is far from alone. There are a whole group of recently elected GOPers -- Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn -- who are of the same mindset as Gaetz. They view their seats in Congress as launching pads for broader careers in conservative media.
The Point: While this trend existed before the country elected a reality TV star as president in 2016, there's no question that Donald Trump's ascension has poured jet fuel on it.
-- Chris QUOTE OF THE DAY "We agree on many things. We don't agree on that" -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on colleague Sen. Rand Paul's open resistance to wearing a mask amid the coronavirus pandemic. MISSION DIMINISHED?  Former President George W. Bush has been a consistent critic of the 45th President. But with Donald Trump still looming large, is there even room in the Republican Party for a voice like Bush's?
Chris explains why Bush's self-proclaimed "compassionate conservative" politics don't exactly line up with where the party is post-Trump.
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CHRIS' GOOD READS
MUSICAL INTERLUDE Buck Meek (the guitarist in Big Thief) released an album of his own tunes this year. Here's him playing some of them in a "Tiny Desk Concert" from the back of a van.  Today's episode: Biden's Covid-19 tightrope. INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK IS ... HERE?  There's an inside joke in Washington, and it's called "infrastructure week."
Previous administrations in the midst of an otherwise negative news cycle would commit to focus on something like infrastructure policy to try to change the narrative. After all, investing in roads and bridges is universally popular (or at least widely bipartisan). Yet it became a punchline during the Trump era, after the administration teased an "infrastructure week" that simply never arrived.
Now, it's time for President Joe Biden to give it a go. He's slated to travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to lay out the start of a massive two-part infrastructure and jobs proposal, which is expected to total between $3 trillion and $4 trillion.
Biden is reportedly aiming for summer passage of the plan, and the White House hopes to take a more deliberate and collaborative approach than it did for the COVID-19 relief bill.
But that price tag – and raising business tax to help pay for it – paired with the ongoing emergency at the southern border, and the relatively tight timeframe to get this all done, means there's slim chance Republicans sign on in droves. For now.
-- Sonnet ONE BIG NOPE! ⚾ President Biden will not throw out the first pitch for the Washington Nationals' home opener on Thursday. Nearly every sitting US president since William Howard Taft 1910 has thrown out a first pitch at a baseball game during their time in office. So far, President Trump is the only president not to participate in the tradition. You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get The Point in your inbox.
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