Wednesday, January 4th 2017, 4:44 am
House Republicans agreed Tuesday to withdraw the rules change that would have stripped the chamber’s outside ethics watchdog of its independence and power after heavy public backlash and tweets of disapproval from President-elect Donald Trump.
Republican lawmakers agreed by unanimous consent in a closed-door emergency meeting Monday to strip the rules change from their overall rules package that the lower chamber is scheduled to vote on later in the day, according to a GOP aide.
This came as the new Congress was supposed to gavel in, and just two hours after Mr. Trump tweeted that congressional Republicans shouldn’t be wasting their time with a major ethics change.
With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
........may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
On Monday night, a majority of Republicans voted to rename the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) to the Office of Congressional Complaint Review. The House Ethics Committee--whose members are lawmakers--will now oversee that outside office’s work.
Under the change proposed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, the outside office would not have been able to investigate anonymous tips, it couldn’t have had a spokesperson and it would have been barred from releasing its findings to the public. Members of the House Ethics Committee would also have been able to stop the office’s investigations.
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, opposed the move, but Ryan defended the change in a statement before the emergency meeting Tuesday.
News 9's Justin Dougherty shared statements from several Oklahoma lawmakers.
JUST IN: #OK's Rep. Frank Lucas on Congress' move to not put ethics office under lawmaker control -- "no one should be above the law" @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/HkCvlqAD7T
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) January 3, 2017
NEW: "That is about as un-constitutional & un-American as you can get." - #OK's Rep. Steve Russell voted in favor of ethics amendment @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/P97xWxlvSX
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) January 3, 2017
#MORE: Congressman Russell calls ethics office, "The Office of Congressional Witch Hunts." Full statement below: @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/HrsAx25NB7
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) January 3, 2017
JUST IN: @TomColeOK04 releases statement on Ethics Office. Wanted "reform," not "gut it." More below: @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/eK4fUrvuGF
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) January 3, 2017
House Democrats created the independent watchdog after the lobbying scandal involving Jack Abramoff.
© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
........may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
On Monday night, a majority of Republicans voted to rename the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) to the Office of Congressional Complaint Review. The House Ethics Committee--whose members are lawmakers--will now oversee that outside office’s work.
Under the change proposed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, the outside office would not have been able to investigate anonymous tips, it couldn’t have had a spokesperson and it would have been barred from releasing its findings to the public. Members of the House Ethics Committee would also have been able to stop the office’s investigations.
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, opposed the move, but Ryan defended the change in a statement before the emergency meeting Tuesday.
News 9's Justin Dougherty shared statements from several Oklahoma lawmakers.
JUST IN: #OK's Rep. Frank Lucas on Congress' move to not put ethics office under lawmaker control -- "no one should be above the law" @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/HkCvlqAD7T
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) January 3, 2017
NEW: "That is about as un-constitutional & un-American as you can get." - #OK's Rep. Steve Russell voted in favor of ethics amendment @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/P97xWxlvSX
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) January 3, 2017
#MORE: Congressman Russell calls ethics office, "The Office of Congressional Witch Hunts." Full statement below: @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/HrsAx25NB7
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) January 3, 2017
JUST IN: @TomColeOK04 releases statement on Ethics Office. Wanted "reform," not "gut it." More below: @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/eK4fUrvuGF
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) January 3, 2017
House Democrats created the independent watchdog after the lobbying scandal involving Jack Abramoff.
© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
","published":"2017-01-04T10:44:59.000Z","updated":"2017-01-04T11:30:38.000Z","summary":"House Republicans agreed Tuesday to withdraw the rules change that would have stripped the chamber’s outside ethics watchdog of its independence and power after heavy public backlash and tweets of disapproval from President-elect Donald Trump.
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