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" Last night, House Republicans met behind closed doors and agreed to gut their own ethics rules. The vote, for which there was no roll call, was 119 to 74, and by all accounts, the GOP leadership opposed making the change.
The blowback was as quick as it was intense. Of the 119 members who voted for the ethics overhaul, only a few were willing to publicly defend the change – or even acknowledge having voted for it.
Coverage was brutal, members’ phones were reportedly ringing quite a bit this morning, and even Donald Trump, the ethically challenged president-elect, suggested his party’s timing was unwise.
And with this in mind, just a half-day after adopting their own plan, House Republicans reversed course.
Facing fierce criticism from members of both parties – including President-Elect Donald Trump – House Republicans backed down Tuesday from an initial attempt to gut an independent ethics office that investigates House lawmakers and staff accused of misconduct.
The decision to scrap changes to the ethics office came during an emergency GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning.
The agreement to drop the plan was reportedly reached by unanimous consent – which means the 119 House Republicans who voted for this last night, in effect, declared, “Never mind.”
This is a pretty brutal fiasco on literally the first day of the new Republican Congress. Screwing up this badly, in such a high-profile way, takes quite a bit of effort.
There are multiple angles to a story like this one, but here are just a few key elements to keep in mind:
* Shame works. Most of the time, Trump seems immune to shame and public pressure, but this morning is a reminder that congressional Republicans occasionally care about public humiliation. Had there not been a public backlash, there’s little doubt the rules gambit would have been approved by the House GOP majority. "
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-republicans-reverse-course-following-ethics-fiasco
The blowback was as quick as it was intense. Of the 119 members who voted for the ethics overhaul, only a few were willing to publicly defend the change – or even acknowledge having voted for it.
Coverage was brutal, members’ phones were reportedly ringing quite a bit this morning, and even Donald Trump, the ethically challenged president-elect, suggested his party’s timing was unwise.
And with this in mind, just a half-day after adopting their own plan, House Republicans reversed course.
Facing fierce criticism from members of both parties – including President-Elect Donald Trump – House Republicans backed down Tuesday from an initial attempt to gut an independent ethics office that investigates House lawmakers and staff accused of misconduct.
The decision to scrap changes to the ethics office came during an emergency GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning.
The agreement to drop the plan was reportedly reached by unanimous consent – which means the 119 House Republicans who voted for this last night, in effect, declared, “Never mind.”
This is a pretty brutal fiasco on literally the first day of the new Republican Congress. Screwing up this badly, in such a high-profile way, takes quite a bit of effort.
There are multiple angles to a story like this one, but here are just a few key elements to keep in mind:
* Shame works. Most of the time, Trump seems immune to shame and public pressure, but this morning is a reminder that congressional Republicans occasionally care about public humiliation. Had there not been a public backlash, there’s little doubt the rules gambit would have been approved by the House GOP majority. "
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-republicans-reverse-course-following-ethics-fiasco
