Utah representative Jason Chaffetz, whose committee chairmanship has tasked him with oversight of the tumultuous Trump administration, announced his intention Thursday to resign from Congress at the end of June.
Chaffetz, 50, did not hint at future career plans in a letter addressed to constituents, only that his decision was based on family considerations.
“My life has undergone some big changes over the last 18 months. Those changes have been good. But as I celebrated my 50th birthday in March, the reality of spending more than 1,500 nights away from my family over eight years hit me harder than it had before,” he wrote.
Since 2015, the Utahn has led the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a position that gained increasing political visibility throughout the Obama administration. It now presents partisan awkwardness for its relationship to the Trump White House; just Wednesday, he threatened to subpoena a memo from former FBI director James Comey that alleged Trump tried to dissuade him from continuing an investigation into Michael Flynn.
Multiple members could be in line to succeed Chaffetz on the oversight panel. Two are South Carolinians: former prosecutor Trey Gowdy, who removed himself this week from possible consideration for the FBI directorship, and Mark Sanford, who has built-in seniority on the committee from his previous service in Congress. Ohio representative Jim Jordan did not rule out interest last month, as news of Chaffetz’s impending resignation spread. The chairmanship is selected by the Republican Steering Committee, which is led by House speaker Paul Ryan.
The process to fill the vacated congressional seat could be messy. As the Salt Lake Tribune reported, Gov. Gary Herbert wants an expedited special election, in which voters determine both the party primaries and the general. State legislators, who say they should set such terms, want party delegates to select general election candidates.
