Rep. Jason Chaffetz is actively campaigning to succeed Rep. Darrell Issa as chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Reports The Hill:
Issa is in his final year of the six-year GOP term limit for committee chairmen.
Chaffetz, the most junior of the trio, is actively pursuing the coveted perch.
A senior member of the Oversight Committee, Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.), said the outspoken Utah lawmaker has visited him to win his support.
“The only one that’s been to see me thus far is Chaffetz, so he’s out working it,” Duncan revealed to The Hill. Duncan, who ranks behind Mica and Turner, is not seeking the chairmanship.
Chaffetz, a Tea Party favorite who came to Congress by ousting a GOP incumbent, has made no secret of his desire to wield the gavel of the committee charged with keeping a close eye on the White House.
“I made it no mystery that I would be interested in being the next chairman of the Oversight Committee. I hope that my candor and plain speaking on this issue will pay off in the end,” the Utah lawmaker said in an interview with The Hill.
