GOP retreats from ethics changes

House Republicans on Tuesday beat a hasty retreat from their effort to weaken a congressional watchdog agency, just minutes before the must-pass resolution was set to get a vote.

Both House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tried to convince GOP lawmakers Monday night not to advance a provision that would weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics by limiting its public disclosures and forcing it to operate under the jurisdiction of the official House Ethics Committee, which is run by lawmakers. Most Republicans ignored that warning, and approved the change Monday night.