Republicans Blasted After Voting to 'Gut' House Ethics Office

Republicans are facing criticism after voting for changes to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) that may significantly weaken its ability to investigate ethical violations by members of Congress.

The House voted to approve a new rules package on Monday, days after electing California Republican Kevin McCarthy as speaker following a protracted series of negotiations with the party's right wing and a nearly unprecedented 15 rounds of voting.

The GOP-led chamber's changes to the OCE, a nonpartisan entity intended to independently review allegations of ethical violations by House members, substantially impacts the office's ability to hire needed staff.

Three of four Democratic-appointed OCE board members will also be removed due to term limits under the changes, leaving Republican-appointed members in nearly full control of the office before Democrats are able to add new members, which may take months.

Last week, a group of 25 advocacy groups condemned the changes in a letter to the House, warning that the OCE would "struggle to perform its core function, dismantling one of the only ways members of Congress are held accountable for ethics violations."

Republican Representative George Santos of New York, who is facing a barrage of backlash and ridicule for lying about his background and qualifications prior to being elected last year, called the changes "fantastic" in an interview with Insider.

Santos insisted that the new ethics rules were "a good thing for transparency" and "a good thing for Americans," arguing that the office would have "more power" as a result.

Others appeared less than pleased by the decision to "gut" the OCE, expressing their frustrations on social media.

"As the Republican House Majority's first move, they voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics, which holds Members of Congress accountable for abuses of power," tweeted Democratic Representative John Sarbanes of Maryland. "Decreasing transparency and accountability in government is the last thing we need."

"In exchange for power, Kevin McCarthy gave in to the demands of the most radical, MAGA-iest Republicans," Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota tweeted. "That includes gutting the ethics office. CC: George Santos"

"This is what you do when you have plenty of unethical things and people (like Santos) to hide!" Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison tweeted before the vote. "Every House Democrat will vote against this sham ... and to vulnerable Republican House Members ... YOU WILL see your particularly vote on this ... again, again, and again! #GOPClownShow"

"I've worked with both parties to make commonsense ethics reforms in Congress," tweeted Democratic Representative Abigail Spanberger of Virginia. "But these rules gut the Office of Congressional Ethics and will take us backwards. We need a Congress that is MORE transparent and accountable — not less."

"Imagine the coverage if Democrats promised to open a new Congress by reading the Constitution and then decided to gut the ethics committee instead," journalist Sam Youngman tweeted.

"Republicans really elected a congressman who lied about his entire life and financial history then passed rules to eliminate the Congressional Ethics Committee lol," tweeted communications strategist Sawyer Hackett.

"The Republican House Majority's first priorities: gutting the Ethics Office and adding to the deficit by making it easier for rich people to cheat on their taxes," tweeted Leah Greenberg, co-chair of the progressive group Indivisible. "The MAGA agenda is about chaos, cruelty and corruption. And they're not making even the slightest effort to hide it."

Newsweek has reached out to the OCE for comment.