At last a good tweet from @realDonaldTrump

From new U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna to the Patriotic Millionaires, email blasts from good-government activists swamped servers Monday after the House GOP decided behind closed doors to gut the Independent Ethics Office that’s supposed to hold House members accountable.

But it appears the plan was stopped in its tracks by a tweet:

“With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority…” Tweeted @realDonaldTrump.

“Focus on tax reform, health care and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS”

Running over 140 characters, this message required two consecutive Tweets, which is President-Elect Donald Trump’s equivalent of a major public policy address. (#DTS, by the way, is Drain the Swamp.)

Within hours, the Republicans backed down on their plan to place the independent office under the purview of the House, whose members and employees it’s supposed to investigate when allegations of impropriety are made.

The commission was created in 2008 because the Ethics Committee had been ineffective in pursuing allegations of wrongdoing by House members.

Trump was right. So were all the good government groups that exploded in outrage at the attempt to gut it.

Khanna was particularly sensitive to it because findings from the office’s investigation of Mike Honda, whom Khanna defeated in November, helped make the case that the veteran congressman had lost his ethical compass in failing to separate his public office from political strategies.

The House Ethics Committee is still reviewing that independent investigation and reportedly has taken testimony under oath in the case.

In defense of the House leadership, Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy from Bakersfield both had argued against the attack on the ethics office. Extremist elements in the House were still carrying the day.

Based on the timing of their reversal Tuesday morning, it’s likely that Trump turned the tide.

The danger is not behind us, however. The Republicans plan to review the office and consider changes in August. But an immediate crisis is averted.

A Tweeting president will get results, no question. Our worry is that the 140-character missives, too short to allow for subtlety, will have unintended consequences. It’s nice to know they can have good ones, too. — San Jose Mercury News, Digital First Media

A Tweeting president will get results, no question. Our worry is that the 140-character missives, too short to allow for subtlety, will have unintended consequences. It’s nice to know they can have good ones, too.