The Swamp (2020) on Netflix

Plot summary

Three Republican congressmen, Matt Gaetz, Thomas Massie and Ken Buck, are shown as outsiders to the patronage system that runs Capitol Hill. The documentary looks at how both parties lean on lobbyists for money and how the strongest fundraisers in Congress are rewarded with committee assignments. Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School supplies interviews and narration, and he blames Newt Gingrich for a shift in the 1990s that put fundraising ahead of lawmaking. Gaetz is at the center: his upbringing, his attempt to change the National Defense Authorization Act with Ro Khanna of California, a Democrat, and his refusal to take PAC money. The film takes a critical view of the first Trump administration's lobbyist ties, though its three main subjects defend that administration.