Less than a day after my post and The Hill reports – House GOP scraps plan to gut ethics watchdog after emergency meeting – “House Republicans abruptly withdrew a proposal to weaken an independent ethics watchdog on Tuesday, in a rocky start to the new Congress.”

New York Times – “House Republicans, defying their top leaders, voted Monday to significantly curtail the power of an independent ethics office set up in 2008 in the aftermath of corruption scandals that sent three members of Congress to jail. The move to weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics was not public until late Monday, when Representative Robert Goodlatte, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced that the House Republican Conference had approved the change with no advance public notice or debate. In its place, a new Office of Congressional Complaint Review would be set up within the House Ethics Committee, which before the creation of the Office of Congressional Ethics had been accused of ignoring credible allegations of wrongdoing by lawmakers…”

• See also The Hill – House GOP votes to rein in independent ethics watchdog – “House GOP votes to rein in independent ethics watchdog © Greg Nash ouse Republicans are moving to adopt a proposal weakening the chamber’s outside ethics watchdog, removing its independence and establishing new limitations on its powers. The House GOP Conference on Monday adopted Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-Va.) amendment to the larger rules package being voted on Tuesday, the first day of the new Congress.”
• Press release – Goodlatte Amendment Strengthens OCE’s Mission & Increases Due Process Rights of Accused – “The House Republican Conference adopted an amendment to the House Rules package offered by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) this evening that would strengthen the mission of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), improve due process rights for those subject to an investigation, and ensure that complaints made by the public have a strong venue for review. A background and summary of the amendment is included below…”
• PBS – House Republicans vote to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics
• Via Boston Globe – Matt Viser on Twitter – “The new Office of Congressional Ethics can’t release information to public. Or have a spokesperson. No communication. In any way. Got it?“