Trump-era Congress gets off to rough start

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Republican-led Congress had a rough start to its first session of the Donald Trump era, after the House had to backtrack Tuesday on a move to defang an ethics watchdog following an outcry that included a dressing-down from the president-elect.

It was supposed to have been a ceremonious beginning in which lawmakers set plans to enact Trump's agenda of cutting taxes, repealing the Affordable Care Act and rolling back regulations.

With Trump set to be sworn in as president Jan. 20, Republicans will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 2007.

But the moment was overshadowed with an uproar over a surprise move by House Republicans meeting late Monday in private to weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics, which investigates ethics accusations against lawmakers.

Trump, who pledged during the campaign to 'drain the swamp,” was not happy at the timing.

'With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority,” he wrote Tuesday on Twitter.

'Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!”

The independent ethics office was created in 2008 following several corruption controversies, including the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal; the conviction of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, for violating election law; the resignation of Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., amid allegations he sent sexually explicit messages to congressional pages; and bribery scandals involving former congressmen Randy 'Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif, and William J. Jefferson, D-La.

It is led by eight people, four appointed by the House's top Republican, four by the House's top Democrat. None of them can be members of Congress or work for the federal government.

But some lawmakers have charged in recent years that the office has been too quick to investigate complaints from outside partisan groups.

Trump's tweet prompted an emergency meeting and a quick change of course.

'It was taken out by unanimous consent ... and the House Ethics Committee will now examine those issues,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan.

His selection was part of the ceremonies involved in the first meeting of the 115th Congress, as the 435 members of the House and a third of the 100-member Senate were sworn in.

Since his election, Trump has made clear he wants to move swiftly to enact proposals he made during the campaign including simplifying the tax code and slashing corporate tax rates.

He also vowed to make good on a GOP pledge to repeal and replace President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

In the first step of a process that could take months, GOP Sen. Mike Enzi introduced a resolution Tuesday to repeal it.

But Republicans face a dilemma in coming up with a replacement - lawmakers have said it could take years.

The White House says the law has expanded coverage for 20 million Americans, including an estimated 13.8 million people who buy insurance on exchanges, many of who receive tax credits to make it affordable.

'If Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act, they'll be hastening the demise of Medicare that millions of seniors rely upon for their basic health care needs,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

The Washington Post and Reuters contributed to this report.