Senate Approves Series Of New Ethics Rules

The Senate has approved a series of new rules to help navigate future conflicts of interest and ethics complaints.

Among the changes endorsed by the Republican-led Senate Thursday include a requirement that Senators disclose a conflict of interest committee level.

The Senate also approved a new process for reviewing ethics complaints.

In the future, an ethics complaint will be first reviewed behind closed doors by a panel of three members of each party. The panel could deem the complaint lacks merit and have dismiss it or recommend it be made public and evaluated by the Senate Ethics Committee

GOP supporters said the new review process protects a senator’s reputation and ensures there is probable cause before making a complaint public.

Democrats said a panel working in secret erodes public trust.