Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy, the chairman of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced his decision to not seek re-election. He is representing the 4th district of South Carolina.
Cong. Gowdy’s is the 10th House GOP chairperson leaving the Congress. On Monday, Cong. Rodney Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee announced his retirement.
The South Carolina representative is a former prosecutor. In 2014, he led the congressional investigation into the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans including Ambassador Christopher Stevens died during that attack.
The investigation revealed that then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was using a private e-mail server. The FBI investigated her e-mails, and found that she was “extremely careless in handling very sensitive, highly-classified information.” However, the agency did not find evidence that support bringing criminal charges against her. The e-mail controversy hurt Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Cong. Gowdy will return to the justice system
In a statement on Wednesday, Cong. Gowdy said he is leaving politics to return to the justice system. He believes that it is better to use his skills in the courtroom than in Congress.
