The Note: Day One for the 115th Congress

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January 3, 2017

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Day One for the 115th Congress

House Republicans Effectively Gut Ethics Watchdog

Late last night, House Republicans voted to put the independent Office of Congressional Ethics under control of the chamber's Ethics Committee -- a move that Democrats slammed just hours before the new Congress is sworn in. The language limits the reviews that can be conducted as well as the time frame in which alleged violations can be considered, reports ABC's TOM LIDDY. It also prohibits the board of the new office from employing a press spokesperson. And it stipulates that if criminal violations are uncovered that they'll be sent to the Ethics Committee first. The new U.S. House will vote on the new rules this afternoon. http://abcn.ws/2j2uZ0b

How Both Sides Are Responding

"Republicans claim they want to 'drain the swamp,' but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions," Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. "Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress." Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who offered the amendment, said in a tweet that it "strengthens" the OCE, "improves upon due process rights" and "does nothing to impede OCE's work." And on "Good Morning America" this morning, senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said she hadn't spoken with Trump directly about the issue, but "there's been an over-zealousness in some of the processes over the years" but insisted that "gutting it doesn't mean there won't be a mechanism" to investigate ethics allegations. U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on MSNBC this morning that he didn't think it was the "right time" for a controversial change to the chamber's independent ethics watchdog, but said he still plans to vote in favor of the rules package this afternoon. "I didn't think it was the right time to do it. I personally believe most of these reforms are bipartisan-supported reforms," he told the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning.

Analysis - ABC's RICK KLEIN

Swamp status? Murky, icky, and growing deeper. The first official actions of the Republican Congress in the Trump era came late at night and behind closed doors on a federal holiday. Even before getting to work on taking apart Obamacare, Republican lawmakers in the House moved to dismantle the ethics-reform regime put in by Democrats a decade ago – enacted after they took control from the scandal-plagued Abramoff-era GOP. What happened late Monday not something leadership is going to want to talk about: The independent Office of Congressional Ethics will now be put under the control of a congressional committee, and will be prohibited from taking anonymous tips and publishing its findings. (The office will be explicitly barred from employing "any person for a position involving communications with the public.") There are, no doubt, high-minded arguments to be had about members' due process in the ethics process. But would any member of Congress like to argue in public that ethics enforcement has been too aggressive in recent years? Would Donald Trump like to make that argument? This becomes an early test for Trump: He's found time to Tweet about the cover photo used in a campaign book, not to mention false reports that he actually won the popular vote. Will he take an early stand on his promise to "drain the swamp," even if that means clashing with rank-and-file Republicans on Capitol Hill?

Day One For the 115th Congress

Today, 52 freshmen in the U.S. House and seven new members of the U.S. Senate will take the oath of office for the first time as the 115th session of Congress is seated, ABC's JOHN PARKINSON reports. The 114th Congress will meet briefly at 11 a.m. to wrap up that session of Congress and adjourn sine die. The new Congress will get underway at noon. After a roll call establishes a quorum of members present in the House chamber, lawmakers will pray and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Then Paul Ryan is expected to be reelected by a majority of Members to his first full term as Speaker of the House. The 115th Congress will then vote on its new rules package, including controversial changes to their ethics rules.

On the Calendar for Tomorrow

Senior sources confirm to ABC News that Vice President-elect Pence will be on Capitol Hill Wednesday to meet with House Republicans. Pence's meetings will focus on the incoming White House agenda, including repealing and replacing Obamacare.