GOP Lawmaker Drops Stunning Claim About Rep. Trey Gowdy's Future Plans; Gowdy's Office Says 'False

A spokesman for Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) told TheBlaze on Wednesday that reports suggesting the South Carolina Republican has announced his plans to retire from Congress in 2016 are "false."

"Clarification is reports are false. Mr Gowdy has not made any announcement on 2016," Gowdy spokeswoman Amanda Duvall told TheBlaze.

Speculation ran wild on Wednesday morning after Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) claimed on C-SPAN that Gowdy intended to retire from the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of his term in 2016 and return to his home state of South Carolina.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Fleming said Gowdy wants to “finish his work on the Benghazi special committee” before returning to South Carolina to be with his family and hopefully “spend the rest of his life there."

While Gowdy's office is denying the 2016 retirement announcement, The Hill's Scott Wong reported that "half his colleagues did interpret Gowdy's comments to mean he was leaving Congress."

That being said, half his colleagues last night did interpret Gowdy's comments to mean he was leaving Congress ... https://t.co/BVncJrt7Di

— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) September 30, 2015

Earlier this week, some Republicans were urging Gowdy to run for speaker of the House.

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