Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz will not seek re-election in 2018 or run for any other office that year, he announced.
Chaffetz is a major sponsor of the Restore America’s Wire Act, which is a Sheldon Adelson-funded effort that would ban online gambling. Though the bill has not been reintroduced in the current Congress, Chaffetz announcement comes after remarks by Attorney General Jeff Sessions have raised concerns that his office may try to re-interpret the current wire act to ban online gambling.
Chaffetz said he was stepping down for personal reasons after more than 13 years in public service.
“I have long advocated public service should be for a limited time and not a lifetime or full career,” he said in a statement posted on Facebook. “After more than 1,500 nights away from my home, it is time.”
Chaffetz, however, did not rule out a possible run for Utah Governor in 2020.
Though Chaffetz comes from a solid Republican district, analysts noted that the likely Democratic challenger for his seat, Kathryn Allen, has raised significantly more money than he has in the last year. Chaffetz was also expected to be challenged in the Republican primary for the seat.
Chaffetz has had a controversial career in Congress and was most noted for his opposition to Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama. He did, however, gain some attention for pushing RAWA, especially after holding a hearing on the bill in 2015. That meeting showed that there was opposition to the bill even among Republicans who called it political cronyism—the bill was drafted by major Republican donor and Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Adelson—and an attack on state’s rights.
Still, comments made by Sessions in his confirmation hearing have raised concerns he will “revisit” a 2011 Department of Justice opinion on the original wire act that allowed for states to legalize online gambling within their borders. Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware currently offer online gambling.
Chaffetz is also taking a three-week leave from Congress for health reasons, but would still have ample time to reintroduce a RAWA bill before leaving Congress.
