POLITICS: “Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Republican leading the House committee responsible for conducting oversight and investigations of the White House, plans to step down from Congress at the end of June.
Mr. Chaffetz, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, on Thursday [5-18-17] posted a letter to his website saying that he would step down.
‘I’ve slept on a cot in my office largely to save money for the Chaffetz family, but also to remind myself that my service there was temporary,’ Mr. Chaffetz wrote. ‘Though the time away and the travel have been a sacrifice, our family has always been united that public service was the right thing to do. We feel my time in congress has been well spent, but it now seems the right time to turn the page.’
Mr. Chaffetz had said in April he would not run for re-election and hinted he might step down early to take a job in the private sector.
As committee chairman, Mr. Chaffetz leads the House panel that investigates waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement in the executive branch. His departure leaves uncertain the direction of the committee’s investigations.”
-Natalie Andrews, “Jason Chaffetz Plans to Leave Congress at End of June,” The Wall Street Journal online, May 18, 2017