This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression. And the opportunity for our members of Congress to open their new session with some welcome Utah exceptionalism came and went Monday in a most ignominious fashion.

"The entire House delegation from Utah — Republicans Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart, Mia Love and Jason Chaffetz — joined a majority of their GOP colleagues Monday in voting to defang the Office of Congressional Ethics. Not because the title of that organization amounts to an oxymoron. Even though, with the step that was taken in closed session on a national holiday, it may.

"Within hours, public outcry forced the Republicans, who had already gone against the wishes of Speaker Paul Ryan in moving against the OCE, to walk back their action.

"Not withdrawn, unhappily, was a lesser-known rule change put forward by Bishop, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, a change that is designed to make it easier for the federal government to give land to state, local or tribal governments. ..."

"Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Republican from Utah and chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, was reportedly among the congressmen who voted in favor of gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics..."

The GOP's Ethics Disaster — Norm Ornstein | The Atlantic

" ... Given Ryan's solidarity with President-elect Trump on Russian hacking — preceded by his deep-sixing any bipartisan statement during the campaign warning against foreign attempts to influence our elections — along with Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz's indifference to any investigation of conflicts of interest or ethical problems with the president-elect and his cronies, this is chilling evidence that we are headed for a new age of official embrace or at least acceptance of unethical and illegal behavior. The core of America's political system depends on real checks and balances, on a Congress that puts country ahead of party. The House leadership showed this week that party comes first."

But wait! There's more!

"A little-noticed provision approved Tuesday by the U.S. House dramatically expands the powers of committee staff to haul private citizens and government officials to Capitol Hill to be questioned under oath — without any lawmakers present, in some cases.

"The Republican-authored change included in a House rules package marks what Democrats says is a disturbing trend of giving staff powers that have traditionally been reserved for members of Congress.

" 'After spending six years demonstrating their eagerness to spend taxpayer money on wasteful, politically motivated witch hunts, Republicans are giving themselves additional tools to do more of the same,' said Representative Louise Slaughter of New York, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee. ..."

"House Republicans this week reinstated an arcane procedural rule that enables lawmakers to reach deep into the budget and slash the pay of an individual federal worker — down to a $1 — a move that threatens to upend the 130-year-old civil service. ..."

"The Holman Rule, named after an Indiana congressman who devised it in 1876, empowers any member of Congress to offer an amendment to an appropriations bill that targets a specific government employee or program. ..."

House Fires at Ethics and Shoots Self —New York Times Editorial

" ... For Paul Ryan, the attack on the ethics office was certainly a milestone: He hadn't even been re-elected House speaker when he was rolled by his caucus. Afterward, his statement suggested he was more worried about how bad this fracas looks for him than about his members' effort to undermine congressional accountability. The claim by Mr. Ryan and Mr. Goodlatte (who, hilariously, leads the House Judiciary Committee) that gutting the office would improve 'due process' for accused lawmakers is a marvel of Orwellian newspeak. So is Mr. Goodlatte's insistence that dismantling the O.C.E. 'builds upon and strengthens' it. ..."

The House ethics office needs changes, but not the ones Republicans proposed — Robert L. Walker | Special To The Washington Post

" ... The proposed limitations on the OCE's public voice seem to have been motivated largely by events surrounding parallel investigations by the OCE and the Ethics Committee into 2013 travel by several House members to a conference in Azerbaijan allegedly funded by that country's state-owned oil company. ..."

Republicans told us a lot with their failed ethics vote — Arizona Republic Editorial

"It was the 'oops' heard 'round the twitterverse when House Republicans decided to reverse plans to gut an independent ethics office. ..."

Why Trump's move on ethics office will be rare — Sacramento Bee Editorial

"When even Donald Trump – who seems willfully blind to his own ethical shortcomings – has a problem with your plan to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, you know you've messed up..."

Starting with a bang, GOP Congress shoots itself in the foot — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial

" ... What's bewildering is how a majority of the House Republicans could have missed one of the most important lessons of the 2016 elections: People are angry at politics as usual. Voters allegedly see politicians as members of a privileged class, unaccountable to people like them. ..."

Draining the swamp — Boston Herald Editorial

"In the end all House Republicans lost was the Tuesday morning news cycle — and a good portion of their dignity — with their now-aborted effort to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics. Yep, what a way to start the new year. ..."

Did a Trump tweet save the Office of Congressional Ethics? Not really — Michael McGough | The Los Angeles Times