House Republicans on Monday quietly voted to strip the independent power from an outside ethics panel established eight years ago following a string of corruption scandals, a move they made just hours before the start of the 115th Congress,

A measure defanging the Office of Congressional Ethics, authored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, will now be included in the House Rules package, which is poised for a Tuesday afternoon vote before the entire House.

Recommended Stories

DOJ announces deployment of election monitors in all 50 states for first time

The Senate map looks better for Republicans than the polls suggest

Will the Republicans and rural voters who aren’t answering pollsters show up on Election Day?