House Ethics Vote Could Come Today

As I reported here and here, the House Republican leadership is backing away from partisan ethics rules passed in January, and the AP reports this afternoon that a vote on the rollback could come as early as this evening. Following a Republican caucus meeting this morning, Hastert told reporters he would be sending a letter to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi "signaling his willingness to repeal the controversial rules changes" and said "I hope so" when asked if a vote on the rules changes would be held sometime today.

"I'm willing to step back," Hastert said. "[We] need to move forward. We need to put this behind us." The LA Times says that the conference meeting was "tense," with some members arguing that the leadership should not back away from the rules, while others pointed out the usefulness of the retreat.

It is the RINO's hope that this arrangement will be acceptable to the Democrats and that the return to a bipartisan ethics process can now be carried out smoothly and efficiently.