In her post, Gaetz wrote: “We love confident, healthy, patriotic women like Lauren,” accompanied by a bikini emoji.

In the photo, Boebert, 37, is seen standing on the shoreline of West Palm Beach, smiling and wearing a dark blue bikini top paired with slim, cheetah print bottoms adorned with gold accent rings.

The focal point of the image, however, is a sprawling tribal tattoo that connects her bathing suit top and bottoms, seemingly originating from her pelvic bone and nearly covering the entire right side of her abdomen.

It’s unclear when the photo was taken, but Boebert’s left hand is adorned with an engagement ring, a detail that suggests it might have been taken before her publicized divorce announcement in May 2023. Boebert and her husband, who has faced sexual misconduct allegations, revealed their plans to end their marriage around that time.

The revealing tweet quickly went viral, amassing over a million views and sparking a mixed response online.

While some supporters praised Boebert’s confidence, others were critical of the tattoo, with some labeling it as “trashy.”

The tweet also raised questions about how Boebert felt regarding the image not only being shared publicly by a colleague’s wife, but also by Matt Gaetz himself. The congresswoman responded with a simple: “Well then…there’s that!” on X.

This incident follows another recent social media stir involving Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who wore a MAGA-themed swimsuit in a 2016 video to express her support for Donald Trump before her tenure in the House of Representatives began in early 2023.

Luna has since leaned into the online attention, using it as an opportunity to mock transgender individuals. “I’m confirming that I have indeed worn swimsuits and you can tell I am biologically a woman,” she commented on X, adding the hashtag “MAGA.”