House Oversight Chair Jason Chaffetz Resigns — Here's What You Need To Know
Jason Chaffetz, the much maligned House oversight committee chair from Utah, officially announced his early resignation today — after a meteoric rise in the Republican party and the sudden decision not to run for reelection in 2018.
Here's what you need to know about Chaffetz's political career and resignation.
Chaffetz Rode Benghazi To The Top Of The Oversight Committee
Jason Chaffetz was elected to the House of Representatives in 2008 after various stints in the private sector. He made a name for himself by being open to media and reporters, leg-wrestling with Colbert and being featured on CNN's short-lived "Freshman Year."
His big break came in the wake of the 2012 Benghazi embassy attack. The congressman was one of the first people to criticize the Obama administration over the attack and embassy security. Less than a month after the attack, he and a handful of other congressmen traveled Libya to mark the beginning of an investigation.
While the investigation never found much of substance, Chaffetz's visit, the subsequent hearings he hosted, and his participation in crafting a substantial conservative narrative boosted his name in Republican politics. In 2014, Chaffetz was voted in as chair of the House Committee On Oversight And Government Reform — an impressive feat for a three-term member of the House.
He Used His Perch As Oversight Chair To Boost His Profile And Address Pet Issues
Chaffetz proudly worked as Oversight chair to focus as much attention as possible on himself. After winning the seat in a contentious jump in seniority, Chaffetz removed portraits of previous chairmen from his office.
After chairing the committee for less than a year, Chaffetz launched a bid for Speaker of the House against Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who had helped Chaffetz achieve his incredibly fast rise to power. Both dropped their bids once Paul Ryan was dragged into the race.
Chaffetz used his power as Oversight Committee chair to target what seemed to be pet issues for him. In March 2015, he dug into the Secret Service after a string of mishaps and gaffes:
"This is what's so infuriating," he exclaimed, asking about an 11-minute delay before the agency called the police for a suspicious bag. "You're the director of the Secret Service. It's almost three weeks after the incident and you don't know why it takes 11 minutes to pick up the phone and say, 'Hey, Metro[politan] Police Department, we've got a problem down here; we need your help.' "
[NPR]
After the hearing, it was revealed that he unsuccessfully applied for a Secret Service job in 2003:
Chaffetz applied for a job with the Secret Service in 2003 and was not selected. After the March hearing, his application was leaked to a news website, and a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general found that 45 employees at the agency had accessed "sensitive personal information" about Chaffetz around the time of the hearing.
[NPR]
In September 2015, Chaffetz held hearings on Planned Parenthood after highly edited videos were released by conservative activists showing Planned Parenthood employees speaking in frank terms about research and fetal tissue. In the hearings Chaffetz aggressively went after Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, repeatedly interrupting her, demanding figures on her salary, and at one point demanding her reaction to a misleading graph made by a pro-life group.
Chaffetz Has A Conflicted Relationship With Trump
After the Washington Post released its Access Hollywood tape, Chaffetz took back his previous endorsement of Trump, saying "I'm out. I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president." But a few weeks later, Chaffetz tweeted that he would be voting for Trump regardless of the fact that he wouldn't endorse him.
As Oversight Chair, Chaffetz was probably ready to lead the charge against another Clinton Administration. In October, Chaffetz told the Washington Post that he was prepared to battle Clinton, saying:
Even before we get to Day One, we've got two years' worth of material already lined up. She has four years of history at the State Department, and it ain't good.
After Trump's election, Chaffetz was slow to pick up his oversight duties, continuing to insist that he would pursue the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails. Chaffetz faced scorn from his own constituents for refusing to look into Trump's conflicts of interest. At a town hall, he told a crowd of jeering constituents, "You're really not going to like this part: The President, under the law, is exempt from the conflict of interest laws."
As scandals blossomed from the Trump administration, Chaffetz eventually started to fulfill his duties and accept the realities of his role. In April, Chaffetz announced that the committee would investigate Michael Flynn's foreign payments scandal. On May 16, Chaffetz requested all FBI documents on communications between Trump and Comey. On Thursday, Chaffetz told Today that Trump shouldn't have hired Michael Flynn.
Chaffetz Announced He Would Not Seek Reelection Last Month
In late April, Chaffetz announced that would not seek reelection, a surprise for the ambitious Republican who had fought to take center stage for much of the Obama administration. Chaffetz said the decision was made so that he could spend more time with his family:
"I am healthy. I am confident I would continue to be re-elected by large margins," he said in a statement. "I have the full support of Speaker [Paul] Ryan to continue as Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. That said, I have made a personal decision to return to the private sector."
Some Speculated That He Is Preparing For A Bid For Utah Governor
Before the announcement, he told the Atlantic that he would "definitely maybe" run for governor. And on Facebook, Chaffetz wrote "I may run again for office, but not in 2018."
Rumors swirled of looming scandals, but so far they've gone unproven.
A Deseret News profile that Chaffetz participated in suggests that Chaffetz is resigning in part due to new stresses that the Trump administration is putting on his role:
Had Clinton won, Chaffetz would have used the platform to attack the administration at every turn, the subpoena power literally resting in the pen in his pocket. But now, he was suddenly limited by demands to play team ball for a team that was already struggling, fumbling health care right out of the gate. And whatever Trump and the fractious House Republicans did, he would be held accountable, even though he would have little control.
Chaffetz Announced He'll Resign At The End Of June
On Thursday, after a week of Trump scandals rocked Washington, Chaffetz released a statement that he would leave office by June 30, providing no further explanation.
