House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday she wants let House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., hold onto his gavel for now, despite his admonishment by the House ethics committee last week.The 10-member, bipartisan ethics panel essentially gave Rangel a slap on the wrist for taking corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean in recent years. The panel said Rangel's staff knew of the corporate funding of the junkets, which is a against House rules, but they found no direct evidence Rangel was told of it.
But Rangel is facing much bigger ethics trouble. The panel is also looking into his failure to disclose rental income tax, his use of four rent-controlled apartments in New York City and, more seriously, whether he used his position to secure a tax loophole for an oil company that donated $1 million to a school named after him.
Pelosi signaled on Sunday he can stay at the helm of the powerful tax-writing committee despite these troubles.
"Obviously there is more to come here," Pelosi said.
But she seemed to think last week's admonishment is not enough for him to be stripped of his powerful position.
"It said he did not knowingly violate House rules, so that gives him some comfort," Pelosi said.