(CNN) Rep. Trey Gowdy stepped down from the House Ethics Committee this week after five years of serving on the panel.

When he was named Chairman of the House Oversight Committee in June, Gowdy asked House leadership to take him off of one of his four committees, according to a spokesperson for Gowdy.

"Four committee assignments, including a chairmanship, is a challenging workload," Gowdy wrote in his letter.

Gowdy added, "I was happy to finish out the calendar year and conclude some matters then pending before the committee."

Read More