House Oversight Committee chairman Trey Gowdy announced Wednesday that he will not be seeking re-election and will instead be returning to work in the justice system.
“Whatever skills I may have are better utilized in a courtroom than in Congress, and I enjoy our justice system more than our political system,” said Gowdy, who has become known for his quick-witted courtroom-style performances in committee hearings and television interviews. “As I look back on my career, it is the jobs that both seek and reward fairness that are the most rewarding.”
“There is no perfect time to make this announcement, but with filing opening in six weeks, it is important to give the women and men in South Carolina who might be interested in serving ample time to reflect the decision,” the statement continued.
Gowdy had seriously considering retiring before the 2016 election and had to be talked out of doing so.
The South Carolina congressman took over as Oversight Committee chairman in June 2016, after friend and Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz resigned from that post and Congress at the end of June. Gowdy is also slated to release a book in April that he co-authored with South Carolina senator Tim Scott, titled Indivisible: Overcoming Our Differences, One Friendship at a Time.
“Words cannot adequately express my gratitude to the people of South Carolina for the privilege of representing them in the House of Representatives,” he said in his statement. “The Upstate of South Carolina has an incredible depth and breadth of assets including numerous women and men capable of representing us.”
Gowdy has had a full plate since becoming the oversight chairman: He also sits on the Judiciary Committee, the Ethics Committee, and has played a major role in the House Intelligence Committee’s probe into Russian election interference.
“The book of Ecclesiastes teaches us there is a time and a season for all things. There is a time to start and a time to end,” the statement concluded. “There is a time to come and a time to go. This is the right time, for me, to leave politics and return to the justice system.”
Gowdy is the latest in a string of Republican committee chairmen to announce their retirement from Congress, including Senate Foreign Relations committee chairman Bob Corker, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce, and House Appropriations chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen.
