Santos steps down from committee assignments

Rep. George Santos (R-N. Y.) is stepping down from his committee assignments, he informed House GOP colleagues on Tuesday in a conference meeting.

The representative had faced a whirlwind of criticism over numerous fabrications and misrepresentations of his resume and personal history, as well as questions about his personal and campaign finances.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said that Santos informed the conference he would recuse himself from committees “temporarily” until “things get settled.”

One source told The Hill that Santos called himself a “distraction.”

“And then he asked that we all support him when everything settles down for him to serve on committees,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told reporters after the meeting.

The House GOP Steering Committee, the panel of Republican leaders who assign committees, had assigned Santos to the Small Business Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee earlier this month.

Santos declined to comment Tuesday morning, telling reporters that “what happens in conference stays in conference.”

Santos’s move comes after he met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday.

“I met with George Santos yesterday and I think it was an appropriate decision that until he could clear everything up he’s off of committees right now,” McCarthy told reporters following the closed-door conference hearing.

“We had a discussion, he asked me if he could do that. So I think it was the appropriate decision,” McCarthy said.

The Speaker said the spots initially set aside for Santos could be filled “on a temporary basis,” adding that Santos will “be able to get committees back” once he is cleared.... (Read more)

Latest News