After his resignation from Congress this week, outgoing Republic Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah will be working as a contributor for Fox News.
According to a statement released by Fox News on Wednesday, Chaffetz, 50, will offer political analysis on Fox News Channel and Fox News Business Network’s daytime and primetime programs starting on Saturday, the day after his official resignation.
In May, Chaffetz announced that he would be leaving Congress to spend more time with his wife and family, making this “personal decision to return to the private sector” after “long consultation” and “prayerful consideration.”
This statement immediately sparked speculation. People questioned if the representative sought to run for another office of if he was involved in a scandal.
Chaffetz responded that none of these speculations were true.
“I’ve been given more enemas by more people over the last eight years than you can possibly imagine. If they had something really scandalous, it would’ve come out a long, long time ago,” Chaffetz told Politico.
“For those that would speculate otherwise, let me be clear that I have no ulterior motives,” he said in a Facebook post first announcing his decision to not seek re-election. “I am healthy. I am confident I would continue to be re-elected by large margins.”
After his announcement, Chaffetz remained vague about his future plans.
Nonetheless, he left the possibility of signing a contract with Fox News open. According to two GOP lawmakers and four senior House Republican aides, Chaffetz told several people that he would be joining Fox News.
Before and during the 2016 election, Chaffetz appeared on the network many times. He often criticized President Obama and told viewers that his committee had “years of material” prepared against Hillary Clinton if she won the election.
“Let’s just say that when Jason told us he was headed to Fox, no one was surprised,” stated one senior House Republican aide.
“I knew he was gunning for it…Fox was his first choice once he announced his plans” not to see reelection,” added a House Republican member close to Chaffetz.
“He’s probably one of the most media-capable members in the House just based on total time spent on a television camera,” said another senior House Republican aide.
As a member of Congress, Chaffetz served as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He oversaw the investigations into the IRS targeting of conservative nonprofit groups, as well as the death of U.S. ambassador in Benghazi, Libya.
Some considered this position to be a difficult one for Chaffetz, namely under the Trump administration.
The Oversight Committee aims to detect and expunge waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. Thus, the ongoing investigations into the Trump campaign and administration’s alleged ties to Russia have been major concerns for the committee. Several ranking Democratic members of the committee, including Representative Cummings, have called on Chaffetz to investigate the president’s administration more aggressively.
Republican Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina will take Chaffetz’ place as committee’s chairman.
With his new job at Fox News, Chaffetz certainly will be under less pressure and will have more flexibility.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Chaffetz stated that he intends to keep his voice in politics as a Fox News contributor while starting a consulting firm and writing a book about Washington bureaucracies. He plans to do some consulting for technology firms as well.
He likes that he will be able to give his opinion on political matters, whether he is traveling or at home in Utah, by working for Fox News. He does not expect to appear on the channel every day.
Chaffetz also revealed to The Associated Press that he contacted Fox News about job opportunities in April, a month before he announced his resignation.
Nevertheless, Chaffetz stated in a recent interview with The Hill that he would still leave the possibility of running for public office in the future open, just not in 2018.
