House on issues ranging from Operation Fast and Furious to his support for reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. In 2012, he received the Defender of Economic Freedom award from the fiscally conservative 501(c)4 organization Club for Growth. The award is given to members of Congress who have the year's highest ranking, according to the Club for Growth's metrics. Gowdy scored 97 out of 100, and was one of 34 congressmen given the award. An ardent social conservative, Gowdy considers himself "pro-life plus." He not only believes "in the sanctity of life," but argues that "the strategy should be broader than waiting for the Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade." Gowdy signed the Contract from America, which aims to defund, repeal, and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, limit United States Environmental Protection Agency regulations, enact a reform of the federal tax code, pass a balanced budget amendment, and end earmarks. In May 2018, Gowdy challenged President Trump's accusation saying that the FBI had spied on his 2016 presidential campaign. As a result Gowdy was attacked by various Trump allies; Politico reported that Gowdy was "virtually alone, getting little support from his House colleagues." In June 2018, Speaker Paul Ryan came out in support of Gowdy, saying that Gowdy's assessment was "accurate". At a July 2018 congressional hearing, Gowdy suggested there was impropriety on behalf of FBI agent Peter Strzok and said that Strzok had shown bias in favor of Hillary Clinton and against Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. He said that this had shaped Strzok's work for the FBI. During the hearing Gowdy repeatedly pressed Strzok about a text message saying Strzok said "we'll stop Trump". Strzok said that a "We'll stop Trump" text message was written late at night and off-the-cuff shortly after controversial remarks were made by Trump towards the family of an American war veteran, and that the message reflected Strzok's belief that Americans would not vote for a candidate who engaged in such "horrible, disgusting behavior". Strzok said the message "was in no way—unequivocally—any suggestion that me, the FBI, would take any action whatsoever to improperly impact the electoral process for any candidate." He added that he knew of information during the 2016 presidential campaign that could have damaged Trump but that he never contemplated leaking it. Strzok said that the investigation into him and the Republicans' related rhetoric