House Republicans called a meeting to order on January 2nd, 2017 behind closed doors to vote on a proposal that would have effectively weakened the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). According to CNN, House Republicans— who control the majority in the House of Representatives— voted in favor of the proposal 119-74, the effort being led by Virginia representative Robert Goodlatte. The vote was taken without debate.

Politico’s examination of Goodlatte’s suggestion explained that the proposal would weaken the OCE by moving it from an independent office to under the control of the House Ethics Committee, which is government-operated. Removing the OCE’s bipartisan and independent status and putting it under congressional supervision allows the House of Representatives to police themselves, which has raised concerns since proponents of this plan have fallen under investigation by independent watchdog parties. Furthermore, the proposal would force the OCE to turn a blind eye towards anonymous tips from fellow lawmakers. Simply put, if a congressman or woman witness illegal activity by other members of Congress, and anonymously tips the Office of Congressional Ethics, this motion would constrain the OCE to look the other way. Furthermore, this proposal would prevent the OCE from investigating criminal activity. This means that any representative who takes part in corruption, bribery, and extortion will not be investigated by the OCE. This proposal was a segment to a larger package-bill that revises the rules for the House of Representatives.

This package bill amends and updates the rules for order in the House of Representatives. It is a regular formality that happens every two years with the congressional election cycle. In this meeting, representatives from the majority party (the Republicans) usually decide the rules of order and the congressional agenda. The irregular nature in voting to erode the Office of Congressional Ethics stood out and was noticed when the complete package bill was drafted.

Democrats everywhere erupted.

“Republicans claim they want to ‘drain the swamp,’ but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House G.O.P. has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a released statement. Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Chuck Schumer and other prominent members of the Democratic Party joined the outrage.
Public backlash quickly followed. Social media users voiced their anger against this proposal, including then President-Elect Donald Trump, who tweeted that although the Office of Congressional Ethics was “unfair,” it should not be the “number one priority” of the House of Representatives. The tweet ended with the hashtag #DTS, an acronym for “Drain the Swamp,” which was a rallying cry for proponents of anti-establishment politics. Trump later abandoned the mantra, calling it “cute.” He then assembled the wealthiest Presidential cabinet in United States history; seventeen people— including President Trump— and a combined net worth of more than $13,000,000,000, according to the Boston Globe. Notable picks like Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Public Education have raised eyebrows and criticisms in the political sphere.

Donald Trump’s tweets, along with public outcry, forced the House Republicans to call an emergency meeting in secret to cancel the proposal that would undermine the Office of Congressional Ethics, as reported by The Washington Post. Idaho representative Mike Simpson discusses the predicament that House Republicans put themselves in, saying “we shot ourselves in the foot.”
The surrogate for this proposal, Representative Robert Goodlatte, defended the undermining of the Office of Congressional Ethics that same evening. “The OCE has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work,” Representative Goodlatte explained.
Ro Khanna, California’s recently-elected representative for District 17 (Santa Clara, San Jose, Cupertino, and Fremont) commented on the gutting frenzy and possible motives for House Republicans in gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics.

Khanna stated that he did not have much information as to why the “GOP decided put that on the table.” He also added that he will make sure that the “OCE is intact.”
Gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics has become a large talking point and center for attack from Democrats, who have been reeling backwards since the presidential election. If the Republicans want to weaken, and effectively kill, the OCE, they must offer a strong, nonpartisan alternative to show that they have the right intentions and that removing the Office of Congressional Ethics was in good faith.