House Rescinds GOP Ethics Changes

"The media wants to talk about ethics, and as long as we're at a stalemate, that's all that is in the press today, " Hastert said. "We need to get this behind us."

Yesterday's developments are certain to trigger prolonged political warfare in the House over ethics standards. Republicans have vowed to try to shift the focus of the controversy to the Democrats.

Hastert said last week that there are "four or five cases out there dealing with top-level Democrats," whom he did not name. Several House Republicans said they planned to use time on the House floor to outline what they consider to be transgressions by Democrats. Ethics Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), whom Hastert named in February after his predecessor ran afoul of the party leadership, had said during earlier negotiations with Democrats that he was ready to appoint a subcommittee to investigate what he has called "various allegations concerning travel and other actions by Mr. DeLay."

Now, Republican officials said, the ethics committee will begin an initial investigation of DeLay, which means that the chairman and top Democrat will determine whether a formal probe is warranted.

Democrats complained that Hastings planned to name a close aide as the panel's staff director, while in the past the chairman and ranking member have agreed on a bipartisan staff.

DeLay, appearing at a weekly news conference he holds in his conference room at the Capitol, said he is "looking forward" to appearing before the committee.

"We will submit, and ask the ethics committee to take a look at, our actions as it pertains to trips that have been questioned," he said. "We will give them everything that we have. And we will ask the ethics committee to look at it and make a judgment."

DeLay said his staff has spent weeks compiling "all the information that we have -- you're talking about going back 10 years or more."