WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans demonstrated their loyalty to Majority Leader Tom DeLay yesterday, changing a party rule that would have cost him his leadership post if he were indicted by a Texas grand jury that has charged three of his associates.

DeLay watched from the back of the room but did not speak as GOP lawmakers struggled in closed session before ending a requirement that leaders indicted on felony charges relinquish their positions. Republicans will now decide a House leader’s fate in a case-by-case review.

The change received overwhelming but not unanimous approval in a voice vote that showed Republicans’ eagerness to protect the leader who raised countless campaign dollars for them. He also engineered a redistricting plan in Texas that caused five Democratic losses through retirement or election defeats.

The dilemma was to shield DeLay in a case that he views as political, while not giving blanket protection to any leader indicted for a crime that clearly has no political overtones. During the closed debate that spanned four hours, with breaks, someone even questioned whether a leader charged with murder could retain his or her post, according to a House aide who was present. Such questions would be handled in the case-by-case review.

There is no indication DeLay will be indicted by the Austin grand jury in a probe led by a Democratic prosecutor, Ronnie Earle. In September, grand jurors indicted the three DeLay associates and eight corporations in an investigation of alleged illegal corporate contributions to a political action committee associated with DeLay, (R-Texas).

“I did not instigate this,” DeLay told reporters after the meeting. “It was not leader led. This came from the members themselves.”

DeLay said the impetus for the change was a desire to prevent a Democratic district attorney from deciding whether House Republican leaders could keep their jobs. He accused Earle of “trying to criminalize politics and using the criminal code to insert himself into politics.”

Earle’s office, asked to respond, had no immediate comment.

The prime mover for the change was Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas), who won with less than 52 percent of the vote two years ago and 69 percent this year after his district boundaries were changed in a DeLay-engineered Texas redistricting plan. He cited previous Texas cases he viewed as political — all investigated by Earle, the prosecutor in the current campaign finance probe. In one of those cases, charges against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison — then a Texas official — were abruptly dropped 10 years ago.

“This takes the power away from any partisan crackpot district attorney who may want to indict” party leaders and make a name for himself, Bonilla said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) denounced the Republicans’ move.

“Republicans have reached a new low,” Pelosi said in a statement. “It is absolutely mind-boggling that as their first order of business following the elections, House Republicans have lowered the ethical standards for their leaders.”

Some GOP lawmakers also opposed the change.

“It sends all the wrong signals for us to change the current rules,” said Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee. He said he requested a recorded, secret ballot but the suggestion was voted down.

A fellow Republican opponent, Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, estimated 30 to 50 members voted against it. More than 200 Republicans were eligible to vote.