House Republicans Reverse Course on Vote to Gut Ethics Office

House Republicans on Tuesday reversed course on changes that would have gutted the Office of Congressional Ethics, following criticism from Democrats and President-elect Donald Trump over their controversial vote Monday.

House GOP leaders called an emergency conference on Tuesday, where lawmakers accepted a motion by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to restore existing Office of Congressional Ethics rules, Politico reported.

House Republicans voted on Monday to weaken the independent ethics office, which was created in 2008 to investigate corruption and misconduct by lawmakers. Under the changes, the office would have been controlled by the House Ethics Committee, which is run by lawmakers. The vote quickly sparked criticism from Democrats and government watchdog groups.

Tuesday’s conference came after Trump called the watchdog group “unfair,” but criticized Congress for making it their “number one act and priority.”