Republicans have ditched a plan to gut the independent body that investigates political misconduct after a backlash.
The lawmakers’ surprise vote to strip the Office of Congressional Ethics of its independence prompted public uproar and a dressing down from Donald Trump.
“Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!” the president-elect said.
The secretive move, which overshadowed the first day of the 115th Congress, was reversed in an emergency meeting.
The ethics committee was set up in 2008 following a slew of scandals that resulted in several House lawmakers being jailed.
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 rule change, which was adopted on Monday night in a closed-door meeting, but he defended the proposal on Tuesday.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.