Trey Gowdy Becomes Latest in Flood of Retiring Republicans

This just out on Twitter, from Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC), chairman of the House Oversight Committee:

There is a time to come and a time to go. This is the right time, for me, to leave politics and return to the justice system. Full statement here ? pic.twitter.com/7I8AApqvs1

— Trey Gowdy (@TGowdySC) January 31, 2018

Gowdy is just the latest Republican to declare his intention to retire ahead of the 2018 elections. New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen made his own announcement yesterday, prompting NPR to speculate on what might be a “brutal midterm cycle.” As of now, 34 Republicans in Congress will be calling it quits in 2018.

In December, it came out that Gowdy spent $150,000 in taxpayer money to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former staffer who was also an Air Force Reserves officer. The 2016 out-of-court settlement had been confidential, but was revealed in a compliance report. Gowdy’s most prominent moment as a House representative likely came in his questioning of Hillary Clinton during the Benghazi hearing. He has served in the House since 2010.