House GOP withdraws move to weaken ethics office

A major reversal of plans was made Tuesday by House Republicans after members initially voted to dramatically restructure the Office of Congressional Ethics ('OCE').

The vote, made late Monday night, quickly faced backlash from President-elect Donald Trump and lawmakers with ties to Delmarva including U.S. Senator for Maryland Ben Cardin. It would have placed the independent office under the jurisdiction of lawmakers its tasked with watching.

"The republican leadership talked about draining the swamp. They talked about change in Washington, and the first thing they do is weaken the ethics process," says Senator Cardin.

Talking with 47ABC over the phone Tuesday, Senator Cardin spoke openly on what he calls "hypocrisy" from House Republicans.

The reversal was announced Tuesday, as the 115th Congress came to order.

Criticism from President-elect Trump came in the form of a tweet which reads in part "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the independent ethics watchdog, as unfair as it may be…", adding issues like healthcare and tax reform should take higher priority on opening day at the U.S. Capitol.

Some republican lawmakers insist the initial vote was smart.

The amendment would have made investigations by the office, which U.S. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee argued would encourage transparency.

"This is a move that is supported by individuals in each conference, democrat and republican. If someone is being accuse of something, let somebody know who is accusing them. Where the complaints are coming from. It makes sense to do that," explains Senator Blackburn.

ABC News reports other members including republican representative Steve King vocalized their disappointment in the reversal.

Senator Cardin tells 47ABC it's a matter of waiting to see what happens under the Trump administration.

"At this point, it looks like the current rules will be still enforced which is good news but there are a lot of different ways the leadership could try to deal with weakening ethics reform so let's see what they do," he says.

Trump's inauguration is set for January 20.