Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy has announced he won't be running for re-election this November, saying in a statement that “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 gained national prominence as the House Benghazi czar, though facing off against Hillary Clinton over a daylong hearing did him no favors.
More recently, he has been knee-deep in House Republican machinations over the Trump-Russia investigation. Less than two weeks ago he stepped down from the House Ethics Committee, having stayed on it just long enough to clear Rep. Devin Nunes on that front. At the time, he gave no public indication that he’d be retiring.
It seems unlikely that Gowdy is planning to “return to the justice system” in private practice, so the big question here is what he expects Donald Trump to appoint him to or what jobs will be opening up in his home state of South Carolina.
Gowdy’s district is deep red.