Former Republican Congressman Christopher Shays has chosen war over peace, in a way -- he wants to investigate contract failures in Iraq and Afghanistan rather than run the Peace Corps.
Shays has asked the Obama administration to pull his name from consideration as director of the Peace Corps.
Instead, he plans to accept an appointment from House Minority Leader John Boehner to a congressionally mandated commission that looks into contract failures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Shays would replace Dean Popps who was on the Wartime Contracting Commission. Popps resigned to work for the Army full time.
It’s a part-time job but he could find himself co-chairing the commission, the Connecticut Post reports. A co-chair gig would keep him in Washington three or four days a week and would come with a salary comparable to his Congressional pay.
The former 4th District U.S. Representative said Wednesday he has ruled out running for any elected office during the next campaign cycle.
He served Connecticut’s Fourth District from 1987 but lost his reelection bid in November to Jim Himes.
