House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy said Wednesday he is not running for re-election and plans to leave politics.
Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor, issued a statement saying he planned to retire from Congress at the end of this term and would return to working 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,” the South Carolina Republican said. “As I look back on my career, it is the jobs that both seek and reward fairness that are most rewarding.”