In Our View: Congress Changes

Tuesday’s drama surrounding a congressional ethics panel leaves no doubt that things are about to be different in Washington, D.C. And while that might be viewed as a positive or a negative, depending upon your political predisposition, there are two clear benefits to be drawn from the situation: The public is paying attention, and President-elect Donald Trump is not a pawn of his party.

Late Monday, on the eve of the 115th Congress being seated, House Republicans voted 119-74 to place the independent and bipartisan Office of Congressional Ethics under the control of the very lawmakers it is designed to keep an eye on. Colloquially, this is known as the Fox Watching the Hen House Rule. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, did not vote on the issue but disapproved of the plan.

The proposal would have required that ethics complaints about House members be turned over to the House Ethics Committee, and it quickly generated considerable outcry. Representatives of non-profit watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, for example, noted that the ethics office “has played a critical role in seeing that the congressional ethics process is no longer viewed as merely a means to sweep problems under the rug,” and added that Congress was “setting itself up to be dogged by scandals and ethics issues for years.”

Vast attention to the issue from the media and the public demonstrated how things have changed in D.C. With concern over Trump’s lack of political experience and his penchant for self-serving actions — along with Republicans holding the White House and both chambers of Congress — there is increased public attention to the inner workings of government. That likely would have happened regardless of the outcome from a particularly contentious presidential election, and it is a result that will strengthen our democracy.

Meanwhile, the proposed action also grabbed the attention of Trump, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. On Tuesday, the president-elect wrote in a pair of messages on Twitter: “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, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare, and so many other things of far greater importance!”

House Republicans quickly scrapped plans to gut the ethics panel, providing some extraordinary insight into the minutiae of Washington, D.C., and the manner in which Trump plans to govern. While President Barack Obama once said he could use a phone and a pen in order to get things accomplished, Trump will wield power with just his thumbs. Most important, he will follow his instincts rather than cater to the whims of Republicans in Congress.

While several of Trump’s actions as president-elect have seemed to violate his campaign promise to “drain the swamp” that is Washington, House Republicans appeared eager to not drain that swamp but to splash around in it. And the ease with which Trump strong-armed them into a change of conscience serves as a fascinating power play.

The end result is one in which Trump stood up for the interests of the American people, calling out House Republicans and their effort to abdicate a responsibility to those very people. Ideally, the next four years will consist of many instances in which the president and Congress provide checks and balances upon one another — just as the Founding Fathers intended. But ensuring that will require diligence on the part of the media and the public.