Rep. Trey Gowdy Harold (Trey) Watson GowdySunday shows preview: Election integrity dominates as Nov. 3 nears Tim Scott invokes Breonna Taylor, George Floyd in Trump convention speech Sunday shows preview: Republicans gear up for national convention, USPS debate continues in Washington MORE (R-S.C.) was chosen Thursday as the next chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

Gowdy never officially announced a bid for the post, but he was considered a lock to get it ahead of the House GOP Steering Committee’s meeting Thursday, where the decision was made.

"I am grateful to the Steering Committee and the Conference as a whole for this opportunity to serve," Gowdy said in a statement.

"I look forward to working alongside the other Committee members, as well as any member of Congress, as we discharge the jurisdiction assigned to us."

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The former prosecutor is best known for his role leading the House select committee that investigated the 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The Benghazi panel played a major role in helping uncover that Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonFox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio Trump, Biden court Black business owners in final election sprint The power of incumbency: How Trump is using the Oval Office to win reelection MORE used a private email server while secretary of State. Gowdy led the panel for nearly two years until it closed down in late 2016.

Gowdy will now be tasked with oversight of the Trump administration, a position that could at times put him at odds with a president from his own party.

The outgoing Oversight chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz Jason ChaffetzThe myth of the conservative bestseller Elijah Cummings, Democratic chairman and powerful Trump critic, dies at 68 House Oversight panel demands DeVos turn over personal email records MORE (R-Utah), had already at times found himself investigating President Trump. He has looked into former White House national security adviser’s Michael Flynn’s paid speech in Russia and whether Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway violated ethics rules by promoting Ivanka Trump’s clothing line.

Chaffetz also asked the FBI for copies of former Director James Comey’s memos detailing interactions with Trump. So far, the FBI has not provided the Oversight Committee with the documents.

Chaffetz is resigning from Congress at the end of June. Had he chosen to stay, he could have kept the Oversight gavel through 2020 under the House GOP's rules limiting chairmen to three consecutive terms.

The House GOP conference is expected to ratify the Steering Committee’s selection as soon as Tuesday. At that point, Gowdy would immediately take over as Oversight Committee chairman.

Gowdy’s takeover of the House Oversight Committee marks a swift rise in Congress since first winning election in 2010 in the Tea Party wave.

He’ll become chairman of one of the most powerful committees in Congress despite being only eighth in seniority on the panel.

Gowdy is leap-frogging multiple members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative hard-liners who have repeatedly clashed with GOP leaders.

Many Freedom Caucus members favored Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who’s third in seniority. But Jordan himself acknowledged that his past tenure leading the Freedom Caucus made it unlikely that he’d secure enough support on the GOP leadership-controlled Steering Committee to win the Oversight gavel.

Only one other Oversight Committee member announced a bid to succeed Chaffetz: Rep. Steve Russell (R-Okla.). But Russell was considered a long shot, especially given that he is 18th in seniority on the committee.