When we last heard from the venerable House Ethics Committee, it was being stripped of some of its power and losing its independent-minded chairman. Unfortunately, nothing — neither good nor bad — has happened since.
Earlier this month, House Republicans voted to require a majority in the committee, instead of an even split between the parties, to proceed with an investigation, effectively creating a sitution in which partisanship can block any and all ethics inquiries from now on. The move is, as the Washington Post described it, a “recipe for inactivity.”
At the same time, committee chairman Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), was told his services would no longer be needed. Hefley, who was “attacked and threatened” by his own Republican colleagues after admonishing Tom DeLay for multiple ethics violations last year, was told he’d be replaced by someone who’d be less willing to enforce the rules against Republicans.
Nearly a month has passed, however, and the GOP House leadership has not yet picked a replacement.
The fate of House ethics Chairman Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) remains up in the air nearly a month into the 109th Congress.
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has yet to name a replacement for Hefley, and the Colorado Republican has not been officially informed that he is out, although senior GOP lawmakers and aides insist that is the case.
Chances are, most people who look at this as procedural trivia and “inside pool.” But it’s worth noting that the leadership’s delay over choosing Hefley’s replacement means that the House Ethics Committee is the only panel on the Hill that cannot do any work — which I suspect is the way the Republicans like it.
With no chairman or Republican members yet appointed, the ethics panel, officially known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, cannot engage in any activity, including moving forward in its ongoing investigations.
For instance, House Administration Chairman Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who has attracted public scrutiny from the panel over his involvement with former GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff and public relations consultant Michael Scanlon, has yet to be interviewed in the informal probe the panel is conducting.
The committee also initiated informal investigations of Reps. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.) last year.
In addition, an ethics complaint was filed two months ago against Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) by Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio) over McDermott’s involvement in an illegally recorded conversation in December 1996 between House GOP leaders. A special investigation subcommittee chaired by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), with Roybal-Allard as the top Democrat, has been established to look into that matter. It is unclear what the status of that investigation is at this time.
“We can’t do any business,” Hefley said.
Exactly. At this point, House Republicans leaders seem more than satisfied leaving the Ethics Committee completely toothless and unable to do any work at all.
It’s indicative of just how seriously the GOP takes ethics rules — which is to say, not at all. The “recipe for inactivity” apparently includes several ingredients.