(PresidentialHill.com)- After weeks of speculation, embattled Republican Representative George Santos from New York announced earlier this week that he would recuse himself from all committee assignments in the House.
This news comes as the freshman congressman – who just took office a few weeks ago – has been facing multiple allegations of lying and potential fraud, as well as investigations into issues such as his finances.
It also comes after many other members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, as well as the Republican Party in Nassau County, New York, have called for him to step down from the House completely.
Santos has refused to give into those demands, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has also said he would not do anything to try to remove him from Congress at this point.
In a statement announcing his decision, Santos said:
“With the ongoing attention surrounding both my personal and campaign financial investigations, I have submitted a request to Speaker McCarthy that I be temporarily recused from my committee assignments until I am cleared.
“This was a decision that I take very seriously. The business of the 118th Congress must continue without media fanfare. It is important that I primarily focus on serving the constituents of New York’s Third Congressional District and providing federal level representation without distraction.”
After multiple media outlets discovered that Santos lied about a lot of his past experience and background during his campaign, Santos finally admitted that he fabricated many items on his resume.
Even still, he was given panel assignments on both the Small Business Committee and the Science Committee.
Santos has reiterated both in public and behind closed doors to GOP leadership in the House that he has no intention to step down from Congress. And while he has recused himself from his committee assignments for now, many people in Congress don’t believe he’s doing enough.
That includes Republicans Anthony D’Esposito and Nick LaLota, two fellow GOP members who represent other congressional districts on Long Island. They issued a joint statement recently that read:
“This is a classic case of someone quitting right before they were going to get fired. While we, and the overwhelming percentage of Long Islanders we represent, are relieved to see that Santos will not be undeservedly sitting on committees, he should still do the right thing and resign.
“That is what is in the best interest of his constituents and House Republicans.”
Siena College and Newsday released a poll this week that showed that 71% of all voters within the district that Santos represents believe McCarthy should’ve never given Santos committee assignments to begin with. And 78% of those same voters believe Santos should step down from Congress.
Santos is facing investigations from New York federal prosecutors as well as the Nassau County district attorney’s office in New York. His finances are being examined in these investigations, which includes alleged irregularities about loans and other financial disclosures he made as part of his campaign.
