Jason Chaffetz Says He’s Quitting Congress to ‘Get Off the Crazy Train’

Just days out from his departure from Congress, Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said he’s leaving to “get off the crazy train” in an interview with Fox News Wednesday evening.

Chaffetz, who also served as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is vacating his position at the end of June and recently secured a contract to serve as an on-air contributor with Fox News.

“I said I would get in, serve and get out,” Chaffetz said on Fox News. “Fifteen hundred nights I’ve spent away from my family, and there comes a point where you got to get more balance in your life.”

The outgoing representative from Utah recently said American taxpayers should provide a $30,000 housing stipend to the 535 members of Congress so they can afford real estate in Washington, D.C. (Chaffetz is no stranger to controversial comments: In March, he told CNN Americans should forego purchasing an iPhone in order to invest in their health care.)

He told Fox News his decision to leave Congress was “partly” due to financial reasons.

“Faced with another 100 to 200 nights a year where my wife’s by herself in Utah and I’m on a cot in Washington D.C. — as nice as the salary is, I can’t afford to have two places and have a quality of life that I’d like to have,” Chaffetz said. “You’ve got dozens and dozens of us that can’t afford two mortgages, kids in college and other types of things.”

Chaffetz is resigning during his fifth Congressional term. While chairman of the Oversight committee, he led the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State.