Gowdy announces exit from politics

WASHINGTON—Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the chairman of the powerful House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced Wednesday he would not seek reelection this year and would return to his law career. “I will not be filing for reelection to Congress nor seeking any other political elected office,” Gowdy said in a statement. “Instead I will be returning to 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.” Gowdy’s retirement adds to the growing list of GOP committee chairmen choosing to vacate their seats in Congress. Republican leaders offered Gowdy the Oversight gavel in June after Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, decided to retire in the middle of his term. Gowdy, 53, made a reputation for himself as an aggressive investigator since joining Congress in 2011. The former prosecutor led the House Select Committee on Benghazi from 2014 to 2016 to review the State Department’s role in the death of four Americans in an attack on a U.S. Consulate in Libya. More than 30 Republican lawmakers, many in competitive districts, have decided not to seek reelection this year. In addition, Rep. Bob Brady, D-Pa., is also expected to retire after this year, according to Philadelphia ABC affiliate WPVI-TV. The 20-year Capitol Hill veteran has served as chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party since 1986.