Washington ? House Republicans struggled Thursday to regain their political balance, one day after House Majority Leader Tom DeLay relinquished his leadership position after being indicted by a grand jury in his home state of Texas.

As he worked to unite the party and turn its attention back to the legislative agenda, Rep. Roy Blunt, of Missouri, DeLay’s successor as majority leader, faced ethics questions himself.

Records on file with the Federal Election Commission show that since 2003, Blunt’s political action committee has paid $94,000 in salary to the consulting firm of Jim Ellis, a long-time associate of DeLay. Ellis has been indicted in the same case as DeLay, for allegedly conspiring to illegally influence the outcome of Texas legislative elections by channeling corporate money to Republican candidates.

Congressional watchdog groups and Democrats pointed to Blunt’s employment of Ellis’ firm, J W Ellis Co., as evidence of what they said was an atmosphere of corruption on Capitol Hill.

Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., confirmed that he was under investigation by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department for a stock sale he ordered earlier this year.

“It doesn’t surprise me because an ethical cloud does hang over this Capitol,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., leaves his office on his first full day as acting House Majority Leader on Thursday in Washington. Blunt took over for Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, after he was indicted on criminal charges.

Keri Ann Hayes, executive director of Blunt’s political action committee, the Rely on Your Beliefs Fund, confirmed in an interview that the group still employees Ellis as a political consultant.

“We just haven’t had any conversations about his status actually,” Hayes said in an interview. “He’s a political consultant. What he does is provide candidate and campaign analysis.”

Blunt has faced ethical question in the past.

Shaky relationship

The Washington Post reported in June 2003 that just hours after DeLay elevated Blunt to be whip, Blunt tried to insert into a bill creating the Department of Homeland Security a provision that would have benefited Philip Morris USA. Blunt had close ties to the tobacco company, which contributed heavily to him, and was at the time dating one of its lobbyists, whom he later married.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, of Illinois, and DeLay pulled the provision from the bill once it was brought to their attention, the Post reported.

Blunt reportedly also has had a fraught relationship with DeLay, who has been his political mentor and rival. Several Republican lawmakers and staffers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said DeLay viewed Blunt as unable to deliver on some key votes during his tenure as whip – a post at which DeLay was a master before he became majority leader.

“DeLay felt that Blunt wasn’t carrying his weight,” said one Republican lawmaker, who requested anonymity because of the political sensitivity of his comments.

But one DeLay ally, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Blunt’s employment of Ellis was seen as a gesture of support for a DeLay associate that DeLay and his allies believe has been unfairly under attack by Ronnie Earle, the Democratic district attorney of Travis County, Texas, who sought the DeLay indictment.

“We believe that Ronnie Earle is a politically vindictive district attorney,” said the DeLay ally. “He’s pursuing Jim Ellis because he works for Tom DeLay.”

Earle’s defenders have pointed to a record that they say shows more prosecutions of Democrats than Republicans.

House Republicans, the DeLay ally predicted, would support Blunt’s employment of Ellis.

‘In flux’

The questions about Blunt, however, added to anxiety among Republicans as they head to their districts for the weekend.

Defensive of how the Bush administration responded to Hurricane Katrina, alarmed by President Bush’s slide in public opinion polls and worried that Democrats would use ethics against them in next year’s Congressional elections, Republicans saw the political ground slipping.

Some spoke of disarray and of a leadership vacuum triggered by DeLay’s abrupt removal from their top ranks.

“Tom DeLay was a bigger-than-life leader,” said Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill. “Our conference is in flux, there’s no question about it.”