WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders, acknowledging that ethics disputes are taking a heavy toll on the party's image, decided yesterday that a controversial rule change that led to a shutdown of the ethics committee should be rescinded, according to officials who participated in the talks.

Republicans touched off an uproar in January by changing a rule that had required the ethics committee to continue considering a complaint against a House member if there was a deadlock between the committee's five Republicans and five Democrats. The January change reversed this, calling for automatic dismissal of a complaint when a deadlock occurs.

Democrats rebelled against that and other changes — saying Republicans were trying to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, from further ethics investigations — and blocked the ethics committee from organizing for the new Congress.

Republicans on the committee say they will launch an investigation into DeLay's handling of overseas trips and gifts as soon as the impasse over the rules is broken. The committee admonished DeLay three times last year for what it deemed inappropriate official behavior.

The officials participating in talks said Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., has agreed to ask the House to vote later this week to rescind the rule change.

GOP aides said the reversal would be politically costly in the short term but would rob Democrats of a potent political weapon.

Some Republican lawmakers agree.

"You have to eat some crow. You've got to get it behind you," Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., said he told a senior Hastert aide.

Ethics-committee Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., will support a vote on rule changes because he believes it is the only practical way to get the committee functioning, sources said.

The vote planned for later this week would mark the second time in four months that House Republicans have changed a rule, then changed it back under public pressure because the changes were perceived as designed to protect DeLay.

Last November, Republicans rewrote an 11-year-old party rule that required a party leader to step aside if indicted, and instead made it possible for such a leader to maintain the party position. A grand jury in Austin, Texas, was investigating the campaign finances of a political-action committee created by DeLay and his political associates. After public objections to the maneuver, DeLay asked his party colleagues to rescind that change, which they did.

The full House approved — on a largely party line vote — changes that Democrats contended would make it harder to launch investigations and would undermine their effectiveness.

Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., who was chairman of the ethics committee, broke with his party and voted against the rules package. Hastert later replaced Hefley as chairman.

Republican aides concede that many lawmakers will be unhappy about having to vote again on ethics rules.

"This will be the second time that they went home and defended a change, then we pulled the rug out from under these guys," one aide said. "We went to them and defended the changes on the merits, and then made it look like the Democrats got their way. That's a tough position to put your members in."

Meanwhile, President Bush praised DeLay in Galveston, Texas, yesterday and gave him a ride on Air Force One back to Washington as the administration worked to cool grumbling about the Texas congressman.

The White House denied that DeLay's appearance with Bush at a Social Security event here was a way for the president to give the House leader a political boost. But although the president has steadfastly backed DeLay, yesterday's appearance took Bush's public show of support to a new level.

"I appreciate the leadership of Congressman Tom DeLay in working on important issues that matter to the country," Bush said.

"The president was very gracious," DeLay said. "We feel very humbled by that kind of support."

Compiled from reports by The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press.