
Congressman-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) speaks during a press conference on November 9, 2022 in Baldwin, New York.
'This Must Be Stopped': House Republicans Plan to Gut Ethics Office
"The MAGA House is more interested in sweeping any corruption amongst their ranks under the rug and performing political stunts against the Biden administration than they are doing anything constructive," said one critic.
Government watchdog groups on Monday blasted plans by U.S. House Republicans to gut an independent, nonpartisan ethics office that was established 15 years ago to review allegations of misconduct against members of the chamber and their staffers.
The GOP is set to have a narrow House majority once new members are sworn in on Tuesday. The party's proposed changes to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) were among various controversial policies included in the rules package for the 118th Congress that was unveiled late Sunday.
As Politico's Nicholas Wu summarized on Twitter, the Republican proposals "would effectively sack most of the Democratic-appointed board members by instituting term limits and make it much harder to hire staff."
\u201cThis could have big implications for ethics cases that could come before OCE at the beginning of the new Congress - like an investigation into Republican members related to Jan. 6, or Rep-elect George Santos\u201d— Nicholas Wu (@Nicholas Wu) 1672673724
Wu was among the political observers and ethics experts who pointed out that the changes would likely make it harder to investigate U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.), who was caught lying about his education, employment history, and religious background.
Although Democrats have called for Santos to step aside over his campaign trail lies and the Republican Nassau County district attorney has launched an investigation into him, the incoming congressman is still expected to take office on Tuesday.
\u201c\ud83d\udea8 \ud83d\udea8 \ud83d\udea8 The 1st thing the GOP is planning to do when they vote on their rules package is gut Congressional ethics oversight\n\nI call it the Santos protection package\u2014it would cut off one important avenue for investigating him\n\nCall your GOP rep (if you have) to object 2022253121\u201d— Norm Eisen (@Norm Eisen) 1672686990
Kyle Herrig, president of the group Accountable.US, noted in a statement that the move could help not only Santos but also members such as Republican Congressman Jim Jordan (Ohio), who—along with GOP Rep. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), and Scott Perry (Texas)—was referred to the House Committee on Ethics for ignoring a subpoena from the select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"It's telling that one of the very first actions of the incoming MAGA Republican-led House will be to kneecap a bipartisan office that oversees congressional ethics," said Herrig. "This is about protecting their ethically challenged members like fraudster George Santos or January 6 subpoena-defying Jim Jordan from accountability—or perhaps in anticipation of a new wave of corruption allegations and ethics violations from other MAGA extremists."
"There is certainly no good reason to make it easier for members to get away with ethics violations, which only invites bad behavior," he added. "It sends a clear message that the MAGA House is more interested in sweeping any corruption amongst their ranks under the rug and performing political stunts against the Biden administration than they are doing anything constructive on behalf of the American people."
\u201cThis is a big deal: when the new Congress convenes tomorrow, the incoming Republican majority is set to vote on a rules package gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1672696503
\u201cWhen Republicans tried to gut it in 2017, they backed down after significant public outrage. \n\nWe can do that again. \n\nCall your member of Congress at 202-224-3121 and tell them not to attack the Office of Congressional Ethics.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1672696503
Public Citizen government affairs lobbyist Craig Holman highlighted in a statement that "OCE is a bipartisan ethics office that helps monitor and report on ethics issues involving members of Congress, and frequently makes its recommendations to the House Ethics Committee on a unanimous vote. It has a proven track record of enhancing transparency and enforcement of ethics rules and has gained widespread support among the American public."
"These are measures that will render the ethics office ineffectual and which no member, from either party, should support," Holman said of the GOP's proposed changes. "Today's Republican Party is rife with ethical transgressions. And it is now trying to make it much harder to hold members of Congress accountable to the standards of decency we expect."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Government watchdog groups on Monday blasted plans by U.S. House Republicans to gut an independent, nonpartisan ethics office that was established 15 years ago to review allegations of misconduct against members of the chamber and their staffers.
The GOP is set to have a narrow House majority once new members are sworn in on Tuesday. The party's proposed changes to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) were among various controversial policies included in the rules package for the 118th Congress that was unveiled late Sunday.
As Politico's Nicholas Wu summarized on Twitter, the Republican proposals "would effectively sack most of the Democratic-appointed board members by instituting term limits and make it much harder to hire staff."
\u201cThis could have big implications for ethics cases that could come before OCE at the beginning of the new Congress - like an investigation into Republican members related to Jan. 6, or Rep-elect George Santos\u201d— Nicholas Wu (@Nicholas Wu) 1672673724
Wu was among the political observers and ethics experts who pointed out that the changes would likely make it harder to investigate U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.), who was caught lying about his education, employment history, and religious background.
Although Democrats have called for Santos to step aside over his campaign trail lies and the Republican Nassau County district attorney has launched an investigation into him, the incoming congressman is still expected to take office on Tuesday.
\u201c\ud83d\udea8 \ud83d\udea8 \ud83d\udea8 The 1st thing the GOP is planning to do when they vote on their rules package is gut Congressional ethics oversight\n\nI call it the Santos protection package\u2014it would cut off one important avenue for investigating him\n\nCall your GOP rep (if you have) to object 2022253121\u201d— Norm Eisen (@Norm Eisen) 1672686990
Kyle Herrig, president of the group Accountable.US, noted in a statement that the move could help not only Santos but also members such as Republican Congressman Jim Jordan (Ohio), who—along with GOP Rep. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), and Scott Perry (Texas)—was referred to the House Committee on Ethics for ignoring a subpoena from the select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"It's telling that one of the very first actions of the incoming MAGA Republican-led House will be to kneecap a bipartisan office that oversees congressional ethics," said Herrig. "This is about protecting their ethically challenged members like fraudster George Santos or January 6 subpoena-defying Jim Jordan from accountability—or perhaps in anticipation of a new wave of corruption allegations and ethics violations from other MAGA extremists."
"There is certainly no good reason to make it easier for members to get away with ethics violations, which only invites bad behavior," he added. "It sends a clear message that the MAGA House is more interested in sweeping any corruption amongst their ranks under the rug and performing political stunts against the Biden administration than they are doing anything constructive on behalf of the American people."
\u201cThis is a big deal: when the new Congress convenes tomorrow, the incoming Republican majority is set to vote on a rules package gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1672696503
\u201cWhen Republicans tried to gut it in 2017, they backed down after significant public outrage. \n\nWe can do that again. \n\nCall your member of Congress at 202-224-3121 and tell them not to attack the Office of Congressional Ethics.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1672696503
Public Citizen government affairs lobbyist Craig Holman highlighted in a statement that "OCE is a bipartisan ethics office that helps monitor and report on ethics issues involving members of Congress, and frequently makes its recommendations to the House Ethics Committee on a unanimous vote. It has a proven track record of enhancing transparency and enforcement of ethics rules and has gained widespread support among the American public."
"These are measures that will render the ethics office ineffectual and which no member, from either party, should support," Holman said of the GOP's proposed changes. "Today's Republican Party is rife with ethical transgressions. And it is now trying to make it much harder to hold members of Congress accountable to the standards of decency we expect."
- As GOP Claims House Majority, Jayapal Warns of 'Republicans in Ruin' ›
- House GOP Agenda Signals Push for Social Security and Medicare Cuts ›
- 'Co-Conspirators in Sedition': Here Are the Names of Every Republican Who Voted to Overturn Election Results ›
- As GOP Takes Over House, Officials Remove Metal Detectors Installed After Jan. 6 ›
- Opinion | The Honest to God Truth: All Republicans Are George Santos | Common Dreams ›
- Watchdogs to House Republicans: Don't Gut Congressional Ethics Office ›
- US House Adjourns—Again—After 11 Failed Votes to Select a Speaker ›
- Opinion | GOP Destruction of House Ethics Committee Tells You Everything You Need to Know | Common Dreams ›
- Kevin McCarthy Under Fire for Inaction as George Santos 'Lies and Misdeeds' Mount ›
- Opinion | The Republican Party and Their Billionaire Backers’ Plot Against America | Common Dreams ›
Government watchdog groups on Monday blasted plans by U.S. House Republicans to gut an independent, nonpartisan ethics office that was established 15 years ago to review allegations of misconduct against members of the chamber and their staffers.
The GOP is set to have a narrow House majority once new members are sworn in on Tuesday. The party's proposed changes to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) were among various controversial policies included in the rules package for the 118th Congress that was unveiled late Sunday.
As Politico's Nicholas Wu summarized on Twitter, the Republican proposals "would effectively sack most of the Democratic-appointed board members by instituting term limits and make it much harder to hire staff."
\u201cThis could have big implications for ethics cases that could come before OCE at the beginning of the new Congress - like an investigation into Republican members related to Jan. 6, or Rep-elect George Santos\u201d— Nicholas Wu (@Nicholas Wu) 1672673724
Wu was among the political observers and ethics experts who pointed out that the changes would likely make it harder to investigate U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.), who was caught lying about his education, employment history, and religious background.
Although Democrats have called for Santos to step aside over his campaign trail lies and the Republican Nassau County district attorney has launched an investigation into him, the incoming congressman is still expected to take office on Tuesday.
\u201c\ud83d\udea8 \ud83d\udea8 \ud83d\udea8 The 1st thing the GOP is planning to do when they vote on their rules package is gut Congressional ethics oversight\n\nI call it the Santos protection package\u2014it would cut off one important avenue for investigating him\n\nCall your GOP rep (if you have) to object 2022253121\u201d— Norm Eisen (@Norm Eisen) 1672686990
Kyle Herrig, president of the group Accountable.US, noted in a statement that the move could help not only Santos but also members such as Republican Congressman Jim Jordan (Ohio), who—along with GOP Rep. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), and Scott Perry (Texas)—was referred to the House Committee on Ethics for ignoring a subpoena from the select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"It's telling that one of the very first actions of the incoming MAGA Republican-led House will be to kneecap a bipartisan office that oversees congressional ethics," said Herrig. "This is about protecting their ethically challenged members like fraudster George Santos or January 6 subpoena-defying Jim Jordan from accountability—or perhaps in anticipation of a new wave of corruption allegations and ethics violations from other MAGA extremists."
"There is certainly no good reason to make it easier for members to get away with ethics violations, which only invites bad behavior," he added. "It sends a clear message that the MAGA House is more interested in sweeping any corruption amongst their ranks under the rug and performing political stunts against the Biden administration than they are doing anything constructive on behalf of the American people."
\u201cThis is a big deal: when the new Congress convenes tomorrow, the incoming Republican majority is set to vote on a rules package gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1672696503
\u201cWhen Republicans tried to gut it in 2017, they backed down after significant public outrage. \n\nWe can do that again. \n\nCall your member of Congress at 202-224-3121 and tell them not to attack the Office of Congressional Ethics.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1672696503
Public Citizen government affairs lobbyist Craig Holman highlighted in a statement that "OCE is a bipartisan ethics office that helps monitor and report on ethics issues involving members of Congress, and frequently makes its recommendations to the House Ethics Committee on a unanimous vote. It has a proven track record of enhancing transparency and enforcement of ethics rules and has gained widespread support among the American public."
"These are measures that will render the ethics office ineffectual and which no member, from either party, should support," Holman said of the GOP's proposed changes. "Today's Republican Party is rife with ethical transgressions. And it is now trying to make it much harder to hold members of Congress accountable to the standards of decency we expect."
- As GOP Claims House Majority, Jayapal Warns of 'Republicans in Ruin' ›
- House GOP Agenda Signals Push for Social Security and Medicare Cuts ›
- 'Co-Conspirators in Sedition': Here Are the Names of Every Republican Who Voted to Overturn Election Results ›
- As GOP Takes Over House, Officials Remove Metal Detectors Installed After Jan. 6 ›
- Opinion | The Honest to God Truth: All Republicans Are George Santos | Common Dreams ›
- Watchdogs to House Republicans: Don't Gut Congressional Ethics Office ›
- US House Adjourns—Again—After 11 Failed Votes to Select a Speaker ›
- Opinion | GOP Destruction of House Ethics Committee Tells You Everything You Need to Know | Common Dreams ›
- Kevin McCarthy Under Fire for Inaction as George Santos 'Lies and Misdeeds' Mount ›
- Opinion | The Republican Party and Their Billionaire Backers’ Plot Against America | Common Dreams ›