Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who resigned from Congress during the middle of his term, blamed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Fox News for allowing the Senate to go home early for August recess.
Said Chaffetz: “It’s infuriating. Mitch McConnell went out in July and touted that the Senate was going to stay in session through the end of next week. And yet, they adjourned early.”
“Just days before he resigns from Congress, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said that House and Senate lawmakers should receive a $2,500 per month housing allowance — something he explained would help ease housing costs for members who can’t afford two mortgages or rents,” The Hill reports.
Said Chaffetz: “In today’s climate, nobody’s going to suggest or vote for a pay raise. But you shouldn’t have to be among the wealthiest of Americans to serve properly in Congress.”
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) is expected to become the next chairman of the House Oversight Committee, replacing Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) in the high-profile post when he leaves Congress late next month, Politico reports.
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Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) is expected to announce that he is resigning before the end of this congressional term, Politico reports.
House oversight committee chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said that if a memo FBI Director James Comey wrote detailing President Trump’s request to end an investigation exists, then his committee is willing to issue subpoenas to get it, CNN reports.
Washingtonian: “According to two GOP lawmakers who have spoken to Chaffetz directly and four senior House Republican aides, Chaffetz has been telling people he’ll take on what one source calls a ‘substantial role’ in on-air talent at Fox News Channel, possibly as early as July, amplifying whispers that Chaffetz will not finish out his current term.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) — “who shocked the political establishment when he announced his retirement earlier this week — said that he has already started looking for post-congressional employment, and hopes to serve on boards of directors and link up with a television network,” Politico reports.
Asked if he is resigning because of a yet-to-be revealed scandal, Chaffetz said: “Absolutely, positively not. Not in any way shape or form.”
He added: “I’ve been given more enemas by more people over the last eight years than you can possibly imagine. From the Secret Service to the Democratic Party. I am who I am. If they had something really scandalous, it would’ve come out a long, long time ago.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) “surprised many in Utah by saying he won’t seek re-election in 2018. Now, he’s going a step further, suggesting he won’t serve out his term,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Said Chaffetz: “I might depart early. It very well might happen.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) will not seek re-election in 2018, two sources who have been informed of his decision tell BuzzFeed News.
His statement on Facebook: “For those that would speculate otherwise, let me be clear that I have no ulterior motives. I am healthy. I am confident I would continue to be re-elected by large margins. I have the full support of Speaker 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.”
McKay Coppins interviewed Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform:
“I asked Chaffetz if he was concerned about Trump reaping financial rewards from his presidency, but he just shrugged. ‘He’s already rich,’ Chaffetz said. ‘He’s very rich. I don’t think that he ran for this office to line his pockets even more. I just don’t see it like that.’
“He promised that Trump won’t get an entirely free ride under his watch. ‘Somebody’ll do something stupid at some point, and we’ll be all over it.’ But, he added, ‘I think the people who voted for Donald Trump went into it with eyes wide open. Everybody knew he was rich, everybody knew he had lots of different entanglements… These other little intrigues about a wealthy family making money is a bit of a sideshow.'”
Jonathan Chait: House Republicans to Trump: Steal all you want.
“Well, we’re getting rid of the individual mandate. We’re getting rid of those things that people said they didn’t want. And you know what? Americans have choices. And they’ve got to make a choice. And so maybe rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and they want to go spend hundreds of dollars on that, maybe they should invest it in their own health care. They’ve got to make those decisions themselves.”
— Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), in an interview with CNN.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, is seeking criminal charges against a former State Department employee who helped set up Hillary Clinton’s private email server, the AP reports.
Chaffetz sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions “asking him to convene a grand jury or charge Bryan Pagliano, the computer specialist who helped establish Clinton’s server while she was secretary of state.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) “said that his panel won’t investigate the circumstances that led to Michael Flynn stepping down Monday as President Trump’s national security adviser,” The Hill reports.
“Instead, Chaffetz deferred to the House Intelligence Committee, which is already investigating Russia’s attempt to influence the presidential elections, a scope that includes campaign communications with the Russian government.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R_UT) said the raucous reception he received at a town hall meeting this week was “bullying and an attempt at intimidation” from a crowd opposed to President Trump’s election, the Deseret News reports.
Said Chaffetz: “You could see it online a couple days before, a concerted effort in part to just cause chaos. Democrats are in disbelief that they have nothing but flailing and screaming to deal with this.”
He also claimed it was “more of a paid attempt to bully and intimidate” than a reflection of the feelings of his constituents.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, issued a stern letter which including a veiled threat of an investigation to the federal government’s top ethics monitor, who this week had questioned President-elect Donald Trump’s commitment to confront his potential conflicts of interest, the New York Times reports.
Playbook: “Going after the government’s ethics watchdog is not easy, and laced with political peril. We bet Chaffetz will get close supervision from GOP leadership on this.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) “again reversed his position on Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy on Wednesday night, saying he’d vote for the Republican nominee but wouldn’t endorse him,” Politico reports.
“Chaffetz is one of six Republican members of Congress who have recommitted to voting for Trump after yanking their support.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz told KSTU that he is withdrawing his support for Donald Trump after a video surfaced showing the Republican candidate for president making vulgar remarks in 2005 about touching and kissing women without their consent.
Said Chaffetz: “I’m out. I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) called on Donald Trump to release his tax returns, CNN reports.
Said Chaffetz: “If you’re going to run and try to become the president of the United States, you’re going to have to open up your kimono and show everything, your tax returns, your medical records.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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