Norton Thanks Gowdy for Treating D.C. with Fairness as OGR Chair After His Decision Not to Seek Reelection

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today issued the following statement after Oversight and Government Reform Committee (OGR) Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) announced he would not seek reelection. OGR has jurisdiction over the District of Columbia. Gowdy previously chaired the OGR subcommittee with jurisdiction over the District.

"I thank my friend Trey Gowdy for his service to our country and for treating the residents of the District of Columbia with fairness and an open mind as OGR chair and chair of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the District," Norton said. "Soon after he took over as chair last year, Trey walked over to my office to assure me that he was not interested in running the District or interfering with the city's home rule. Chairman Gowdy went on to keep his word and has kept the committee out of the District's local affairs. In doing so, Trey observed the cardinal Republican principle of local control without interference or dominance by the federal government. The Congress is losing a good man, D.C. is losing a principled chair, and I am losing a good friend."

During his congressional career, Gowdy never introduced a bill to block or overturn a local D.C. law. However, he did cosponsor legislation reflecting Republican ideology to block abortions after 20 weeks in D.C. and cosponsored a national anti-choice bill that would, among other things, permanently prohibit D.C. from spending its local funds on abortions for low-income women. Neither of these bills have become law. In a 2011 interview, after becoming chair of the OGR subcommittee with jurisdiction over the District, Gowdy said, "I'm going to provide oversight. I'll do it fairly, I'll do it completely, but I'm not interested in being the mayor of the District of Columbia or the overlord or the overseer or whatever else they want to call it."