After the events of the campaign and the result of the presidential election, it would be easy to place all of our scrutiny on Donald Trump. His opinions have been controversial, and his appointments for government positions have been the subject of endless news coverage. While it is important for us to hold our executive branch to the highest standard, it is equally important to keep an eye on every level of government. As an electorate, we have to exercise our power and influence to make certain that our representatives act in our best interests.
At the beginning of the year, House Republicans shocked the Capital by announcing plans to scrap an independent oversight committee and instead allowing the lawmakers to police their own actions, a move that prompted bewilderment and outrage after an election where a key issue of the presidential race was the corruption of government officials. The backlash from this news caused the Republicans to abandon their plans to strip the Office of Congressional Ethics of its power. Trump himself spoke out on the matter on Twitter, stressing that healthcare and tax reform should be of greater importance.
The result was a great victory for ethics watchdogs, but rhetoric from Trump and the crafters of this plan seem to indicate that this move has only been shelved for a later date. This week must be set as a lesson to Americans that we still have influence in our government. It is up to us to keep our representatives accountable for their actions and ensure that oversight of the government is kept in place. If we allow congressional representatives to take the responsibility of managing the ethics in Washington, it will only increase the likelihood of impropriety in all levels of government. It is difficult, but we have to realize that we are the government’s watchers. Our congressmen and senators must represent more than just their own self-interest.
Government officials should never have free reign to do as they please in a country that holds itself up as the leader of the free world. If we want to be an example for the world to follow, then having congressional oversight is the very least that we can do.