President-elect Trump questioned House Republicans changing the rules governing an ethics oversight body Tuesday.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan reportedly opposes how the rule change was passed, but agrees with the substance of the rule change. The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) was created in 2008 by then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. With the surprise change, OCE now sits under the purview of the House Committee on Ethics, which will govern any investigation into House members.
The 115th Congress convened Jan 3., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the Senate’s first vote will be to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and Trump supporters expect the measure to be replaced early in the Trump administration.
OCE was primarily used by Pelosi and had very limited oversight into investigations. There are five Democrats on the board of directors and only one Republican.
The first days of the 115th session are cleared for rule changes that will affect the next two years of legislation, meaning that if the office will be changed, the first days are the time to do it.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.