It was probably never a good idea for House Republicans to use a procedural gimmick to change ethics rules. It was definitely foolish to do it as their first order of business in the new Congress. House Speaker Ryan told them so, but his lieutenants were not interested in optics as they prepared to clamp down on the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. Two tweets from President-elect Trump, however, were enough. In a sharp turn, lawmakers dropped their gambit today. Trump was understandably miffed at the ham-fisted move by the new Congress to make disempowering watchdogs the first order of...