January 3, 2017

House Republicans Ditch Plan to Weaken Congressional Ethics Office

The reversal comes less than 24 hours after news of the effort was first reported.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.)Astrid Riecken/TNS/ZUMAPRESS.com

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Following intense backlash, House Republicans on Tuesday voted to abandon a plan to significantly curtail the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics. The reversal comes less than a day after news that Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) was introducing the ethics amendment.

Shortly before the amendment was officially dropped, President-elect Donald Trump criticized the timing of the effort, saying there were more important priorities to consider. He did not, however, say he opposed the amendment’s intention to gut the independent office.

This is a breaking news post. We will update when more news becomes available.

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