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A day of chaos at the Capitol as House Pubs back down on ethics changes
 [WAPO] A day of pageantry to open the 115th Congress and usher in a new period of Republican governance was overtaken Tuesday by an embarrassing reversal on ethics oversight, with the GOP gripped by internal division and many lawmakers seeking to shield themselves from extensive scrutiny.The 19 hours of tumult was set in motion the night before behind closed doors at the Longworth House Office Building, where Republican lawmakers decided over the objections of Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to amend House rules to effectively gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. They awoke Tuesday to an intense public outcry. Social media lit up with criticism of representatives trying to rein in the ethics office created a decade ago in the aftermath of scandals. Angry constituents inundated their representatives’ offices with calls of protest. Journalists peppered lawmakers with questions. The halls of the Capitol felt chaotic. Then, shortly after 10 a.m., came the loudest objection of all: A pair of tweets from President-elect Donald Trump scolding Congress for making the weakening of the ethics watchdog its "number one act and priority." He punctuated his second tweet with the hashtag "DTS" -- shorthand for "drain the swamp," one of his campaign-trail mantras. Posted by: Besoeker 2017-01-04 |
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