Military Leaders Hit Back at Rep. Matt Gaetz After He Claimed That Pentagon Embraces Critical Race Theory
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) listens as FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill June 10, 2021 in Washington, DC. Wray fielded a wide range of questions, including several about the January 6th Capitol riot. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Military leaders fired back at Rep. Matt Gaetz during a House hearing on Wednesday, June 23, after the Florida lawmaker had raised concerns on critical race theory being taught to the country's soldiers.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Gaetz that they do not teach critical race theory nor embrace it, adding that he thinks that is a false conversation.

Austin added that they are focused on extremism behaviors and not ideology, people's thoughts, and people's political orientations, according to an NBC News report.

Matt Gaetz claimed that he has heard from other soldiers who have raised concerns about the subject being taught. Lloyd Austin replied to Gaetz's anecdote and said that he trusts his leadership from top to bottom.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also replied to the accusations. Milley said he has read Mao Tse-tung, Karl Marx, and Lenin. However, he said that it does not make him a Communist.

The general added that what is wrong with understanding and having some situational awareness of the country that they are here to defend.

The Army general said that it is important for leaders to be open-minded and well-read on a wide range of subjects. He also noted that he wanted to understand "white rage," especially after the Capitol riot last January 6.

Matt Gaetz can be briefly seen shaking his head as the general briefly explained civil rights laws in the United States from before the Civil War to the present day.

He later responded on Twitter, saying that it is no wonder that they have fought considerably more wars than the U.S. has won, Huff Post reported.

Matt Gaetz's Tweets

Matt Gaetz had also posted a tweet calling for Democrats to defund the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the midst of an FBI investigation.

The Florida Republican then quickly removed the tweet, according to a Washington News Today report. The tweet had said that if the Democrats want to defund the cops, they should start with the FBI.

FBI is looking into Gaetz's alleged role in child sex trafficking after his companion had pled guilty to charges of having sex with a kid and implicated others. Matt Gaetz had denied having sexual relations with a minor.

The Justice Department has reportedly been investigating the Florida lawmaker since last year over whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid her to travel with him.

Relations With A Minor Allegations

The investigation also reportedly involved Joel Greenberg, who is an associate of Gaetz and former county tax collector in Florida, Vice News reported. Greenberg pled guilty to six federal charges, which included sex trafficking a minor.

Harlan Hill, a spokesperson for Gaetz, said in May after Greenberg's plea, that the representative does not seem to be named nor referenced in Greenberg's plea.

Matt Gaetz also claimed that FBI operatives organized and participated in the January 6th Capitol riot. He also questioned whether the FBI animated some of the criminal conduct during the Capitol riot.

WATCH: VIRAL MOMENT: Sec. Austin FIRES BACK at Matt Gaetz After Heated Exchange on Critical Race Theory - From The Hill