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| The move was initiated by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (left) |
Republicans are to drop a plan to gut the independent body that investigates political misconduct, after an outcry.
President-elect
Donald Trump had criticised Republicans after they voted to strip the
Office of Congressional Ethics of its independence."Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!" Mr Trump said in a tweet.
The proposal was dropped in an emergency meeting at the new Congress, unnamed lawmakers told the US media.
Mr Trump made cleaning up corruption in Washington a key theme of his campaign, and he ended his tweet with "#DTS", an acronym for "drain the swamp".
Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had argued unsuccessfully against the vote but on Tuesday he defended the proposal.
"I want to make clear that this House will hold its members to the highest ethical standards and the Office will continue to operate independently to provide public accountability to Congress," he said.
A win for Trump - Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington
Donald Trump's tweets have teeth. The president-elect took to social media to express his displeasure with the move and within hours those legislative efforts were abandoned.The independent ethics investigators had been a source of discomfort for members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, and there was significant interest in limiting their ability to conduct inquiries.
Even after Mr Trump's tweets, many congressional Republicans appeared reluctant to back down. House Speaker Paul Ryan, an initial opponent of the measure, issued a statement defending the change.
That ended up being little comfort to the party rank and file, however, as pressure increased for them to bend to Mr Trump's political will. In his first confrontation with congressional leadership, the president-elect displayed his dominance.
Mr Trump now has a valuable talking point when discussions inevitably turn back to his own ethical questions, such as how he will handle potential conflicts of interest involving his sprawling business empire.
He has made it a bit easier, at least for now, to claim he's standing behind his drain-the-Washington-swamp campaign rhetoric.
Under the change:
- The watchdog would no longer be independent
- Lawmakers would vote to determine if a fellow member of congress has broken the law
- The body would be prevented from receiving anonymous tips
- Accusations against lawmakers would not be made public, as they are currently
But Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte submitted the proposal against the advice of his own party's leaders.
Mr Trump's tweets about the ethics committee came on a busy morning for the president-elect's Twitter account.
He also warned North Korea about its nuclear ambitions, attacked Obamacare costs and sparked a row with General Motors over its manufacturing operation in Mexico, which the car firm disputes.
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