DeLay on the Defensive

By Viveca Novak

IF THE HOUSE HAD A THREE-strikes rule, majority leader Tom DeLay would be packing his office. The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct last week rebuked DeLay for two ethics violations and told him to watch his step in the future. He was reprimanded for sending federal officials to look for a plane he believed was carrying Texas Democratic state lawmakers dodging a vote on a DeLay-backed redistricting plan. A second rebuke involved a $25,000 contribution to one of his political committees by Westar, a Kansas energy company that was seeking a special provision in a pending energy bill. The panel's action came a week after it admonished DeLay for courting a Congressman's vote on the 2003 Medicare bill by offering to support the lawmaker's son in his Michigan congressional campaign.

Could DeLay's troubles jeopardize his powerful position in the House and undercut his ambition to be Speaker? A number of Republicans "fear but don't revere" DeLay, says a senior G.O.P. operative, and the combined concerns could surface in mid-November, when House members meet to elect their leaders.

But DeLay's current problems may not be over. A Texas grand jury has indicted three of his close aides on charges of funneling illegal corporate money to Texas state elections. The House ethics panel was asked to look at DeLay's involvement in the scheme but decided to wait for the Texas prosecutor to finish his probe. And Senate and federal grand jury investigations of lobbyist and DeLay fund raiser Jack Abramoff--who allegedly has defrauded Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars in inflated fees--are exploring his boasts of access to DeLay. People close to DeLay have been subpoenaed, say government sources. --By Viveca Novak