Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, touched off speculation with his announcement he won't be running for re-election in 2018.
The Washington Post reported Republican strategists theorize that Chaffetz, chairman of the oversight committee, just got bored with his job.
Amber Phillips, writing for the newspaper's column The Fix, noted Chaffetz's panel has the responsibility to investigate the government "and it probably would have been a lot more fun for this tea party-leaning Republican to investigate Hillary Clinton's government than President [Donald] Trump's."
But Phillips noted Chaffetz is "known for dripping with ambition." She said he may be eyeing another opportunity.
"Well two-term Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) announced that he wouldn't seek a third term in 2020," she said. "Josh Romney, Mitt Romney's son, said he's "strongly considering" running, but that wouldn't preclude Chaffetz from jumping in."
Phillips noted Chaffetz once tried to become speaker of the house before later dropping out.
"But Chaffetz has clearly decided that speaker is no longer a job he wants," she wrote. "(Watching Ryan take heat from his party for the recent healthcare debacle probably didn't help sell the job.)"
And, she noted, he had even once thought about running against Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, back in 2012.
"This might be one of those cases in which the simplest answer is the right answer," she said. "And the simplest answer is that Chaffetz just decided he wanted out."
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