A new Republican-led Congress meets today, and in one of their first moves, House Republicans have voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics, dismantling reforms adopted after a previous Republican ethics scandal. The measure will take away authority and independence from the investigative body and give more power to lawmakers over internal inquiries. We speak with Craig Holman, Public Citizen’s government affairs lobbyist on campaign finance and governmental ethics, who helped to set up the Office of Congressional Ethics after it was established in 2008, and says it “literally quadrupled” the number of ethics actions taken in the House but will now be “neutered.”

Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.

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