SC: Gowdy retiring. US Rep. Trey Gowdy (R), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, announced yesterday that he is retiring. The former prosecutor said in a statement “Whatever skills I may have are better utilized in a courtroom than in Congress, and I enjoy our justice system more than our political system.” Gowdy was known for conducting the House investigation into the Benghazi attack. More recently, he has urged publication of the Nunes memo alleging FBI abuses; however, he has also said, as late as last Sunday, that he had “100%” trust in Special Counsel Robert Mueller ……. DC: Three Southerners (R) vie for Appropriations chair. With the coming retirement of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), US Reps. Robert Aderholt (AL), Tom Cole (OK) and Kay Granger (TX) are competing to succeed the New Jersey GOPer in the House chamber’s most powerful post ……. Tennessee: Kustoff cites tax reform’s success. In an op-ed published in The Hill, US Rep. David Kustoff (R) noted that more than 250 companies, including some of the nation’s largest corporations, have passed on benefits from the tax reform legislation to their employees. These include bonuses, salary increases, and 401K match increases. “The passage of historic, comprehensive tax reform was a success that will have a lasting impact on American economic opportunity for generations to come,” wrote Kustoff …….