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Chaffetz to Become Fox News Contributor

Congressman to start new job the day after he leaves office

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, is swarmed by the media while departing the Longworth House Office Building. (Al Drago/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, is swarmed by the media while departing the Longworth House Office Building. (Al Drago/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Jason Chaffetz, who resigned his Utah congressional seat in the middle of his term because “the time has come for us to move on,” will become a Fox News contributor on July 1, the day after he leaves office.

Chaffetz said that he was looking for new jobs, “poking around to see what I might be worth,” as early as April. Fox News will pay him to give his opinion on politics on the Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. His first appearance on the conservative news network comes Wednesday, the day of the announcement, while he is still technically serving in Congress.

Chaffetz is well-known for his embrace of cable TV, appearing often on news and talk shows, leaving few surprised that he would work at Fox News after he abandoned his congressional seat. He began his freshman term in office by cataloging it for CNN in 2009.

Notably, Chaffetz went high-profile in rescinding his endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump after the “Access Hollywood” tape showing Trump making crass remarks about women became public. When it became clear that the tape would not sink Trump’s chances at the presidency, Chaffetz changed his mind.

Chaffetz as House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman consistently inserted himself into Washington, D.C. city politics, often running counter to D.C. residents’ opinions. Chaffetz tried unsuccessfully to overturn local laws on assisted suicide, medical marijuana, and same-sex marriage. 

“We’re thrilled,” Lynette Craig, head of D.C. organization Americans for Self-Rule, said in April when she learned of his resignation.

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