For years, U.S. Representative (R-Colorado) Lauren Boebert has practiced a certain brand of politicking that involves heavy doses of social media. Her tweets are notable for their ability to consistently inspire controversy and, as a result, conjure up press coverage and attention. It makes sense, then, that she would give being a part-time influencer a shot as she did this week when she joined the video-sharing website Cameo.
However, Boebert wasn’t on the platform very long. It appears she only kept her account active for approximately a day.
“Hey, Cameo, it’s your girl from Colorado, Lauren Boebert. I am so excited to be joining another platform where I can connect directly with supporters from all over the world,” Boebert said, in an introductory video posted to the site. “Whether you or someone you know needs an America-first pep talk, if you want to surprise friends or family with a message for a special day, or if you just want to know my thoughts on whatever’s on your mind, Cameo is the place to connect with me,” she added.
Boebert’s account was first noticed on Saturday. However, by 10:45 a.m. mountain time on Monday, she had stopped taking requests and deactivated her account sometime that afternoon, The Denver Post reports. While her account still appears to be indexed by Google, clicking on the link takes you to a 404 error page. The video Boebert posted to her account is still available on the conservative video-sharing platform Rumble.
Why anyone would want a Cameo birthday greeting from a government bureaucrat (as opposed to, say, Jack Black or Taylor Swift) is anybody’s guess, but it appears that Boebert may have bigger problems than a lack of audience enthusiasm. Multiple outlets have noted that prolific Cameo use could spell major misconduct issues for sitting Congressional officials, which may explain why she didn’t keep the page up very long.
Multiple outlets, including The Denver Post and The New Republic, have noted the outside income limit for members of the House of Representatives, which specifies that Congressional officials can only make an additional $31,815 from outside work in addition to the annual $174,000 salaries they are paid. Were Boebert to go over that limit via her digital birthday wishes, she could run afoul of House rules. The New Republic also notes that House members are forbidden from receiving honoraria, which is defined as a “payment of money or thing of value for an appearance, speech, or article.”
Gizmodo reached out to Boebert’s office for comment.
It’s unclear why Boebert chose this particular juncture to get on Cameo, though perhaps she was inspired by her pal and former colleague, Matt Gaetz. The former Congressman from Florida recently joined the platform after suffering a precipitous career downfall. Offered the role of U.S. Attorney General by Donald Trump a mere two weeks ago, Gaetz quit Congress on Nov. 13th to pursue the role, just as a House Ethics probe into him was scheduled to potentially release its findings. Dogged by seedy claims that he had sex with a 17-year-old (and, apparently, by rampant criticism that he was grossly unqualified for the DOJ job), Gaetz eventually dropped out of the running for the role of America’s top law enforcement official and subsequently resigned himself to make a living by sending strangers on the internet videos of his face. According to his former colleagues, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Of course, Gaetz isn’t the first former Congressional leader to jump on Cameo. That honor goes to the reliably moronic George Santos, who served as a U.S. Representative for New York for less than a year before his political career imploded in a discharge of lies and fraud. After Santos’ unceremonious exit from the government (he was expelled after getting charged with fraud and identity theft by federal prosecutors), the former government official (and, now, convicted felon) decided to make money by sharing videos of himself.
In short, if Boebert does, at some point, decide to pursue a career on the video-sharing platform, she will be in “good” company.
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