Republicans reverse vote against ethics watchdog
Legislators back off after a dressing-down from president-elect Donald Trump on priorities as the 115th Congress gets under way
Washington — The Republican-led US Congress began its first session of the Donald Trump era in uncertainty on Tuesday as the House of Representatives backed away from a decision to defang an ethics watchdog after a public outcry, including a dressing-down from the president-elect. With Trump set to be sworn in as president on January 20, Republicans will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 2007, and they were set to begin laying plans for enacting his agenda of cutting taxes, repealing Obamacare and rolling back financial and environmental regulations. But the moment was overshadowed by a surprise move by Republicans in the House of Representatives in a closed-door meeting late on Monday to weaken the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which is in charge of investigating ethics accusations against legislators. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to "drain the swamp" and bring ethics reforms to Washington, was not pleased. "With all that Congress...
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