By Robert Laurie —— Bio and Archives May 24, 2017
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The House’s most powerful investigative gavel is set to land in the hands of Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) with little drama once Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz leaves Congress next month, according to multiple members and aides familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussions about the post. Chaffetz (R-Utah) is stepping down June 30 to pursue a private-sector career amid sharp public focus on the Republican Congress’s willingness to conduct oversight on President Trump and his administration.Your first instinct is to cheer. As I said, you love watching the carnage, so you're not alone in your enthusiasm. ...But there was someone else who was looking at the gig.
Gowdy, who led the two-year House Benghazi probe, has secured near-unanimous support among members of the House Republican Steering Committee — the 36-member body that selects committee chairmen — and one key potential rival said Monday that he would not seek the Oversight gavel.
“I have not been making a play, and I’m not going to,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Monday. “Look, you guys know how this works: The establishment’s not going to put the anti-establishment guy in charge of the committee whose job it is to go after the establishment.” Jordan did not express opposition to Gowdy becoming chairman. “I think Trey’s probably going to be our guy, and Trey’s a good guy,” he said.That's what you call some heavy-duty shade. Now, I like Gowdy as much as the next guy and, like you, I certainly enjoy seeing him dismember the left. However, I have my concerns. They stem from one simple question: "What has Gowdy actually accomplished?" Gowdy's interrogations may be exciting, but they have a nasty habit of going ...nowhere. You can certainly argue that the Benghazi hearings, which produced the now-infamous "what difference does it make" clip, damaged Hillary's eventual candidacy. You can also make a fair point that, in a town where corruption and criminality are rife, it's nice to have someone who knows how to make a show of opposing it.
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