He never had the unilateral power to do anything so he kept digging up dirt that should have been aggressively addressed
Yep.
This is vapors over nothing. Congressmen are limited as to the number of committees, subcommittees, and chairmanships. Some spots are competitive, and a senior or more privileged member may bump someone off a post. The member who leaves may be doing a favor for someone lower in seniority. It’s real gamesmanship so without knowing more details, it may be just as Gowdy describes.