The Office of Congressional Ethics has been continuously requesting to be an independent, nonpartisan party in order to fulfill its primary functions; however, House Republicans made a motion to place the office under the control of the House Ethics Committee. This means that the office cannot employ a spokesperson, launch investigations into anonymous tips, or report criminal activity to prosecutors without the Ethics Committee’s permission.
Nancy Pelosi established the Office of Congressional Ethics in 2008 after many were noticing that House Republicans and lobbyists were creating a cultur of corruption. Republicans have been trying to get rid of the office ever since.
Pelosi recently issued a statement about Bob Goodlatte’s efforts to eliminate the checks and balances measures that have been imposed to reel in Republicans. Pelosi said that she finds it interesting that Republicans want to drain the swamp, but just before new members of Congress are sworn in, they decided to get rid of the sole independent ethics oversight.
Although many will credit Trump with making this happen, it was actually the American people. Thousands of people called the office angry about the situation, which forced the office to listen to the concerns. Many feel that the Republican party lacks ethics and morals, and this is why they chose to completely get rid of the Ethics Committee.