George Santos Recuses Himself From Sitting On Committees
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) told fellow Republican lawmakers in a closed door meeting that he plans to recuse himself from multiple committee assignments.
Santos currently serves on the House Small Business Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. Both were controversial appointments in light of accusations the Republican lied about everything from his family background to work history during his campaign.
The Washington Post’s Meryl Kornfield and John Wagner reported on Tuesday that Santos said he would step down as he’s become a “distraction” for his party. The Republican has claimed he will not resign his position in Congress on multiple occasions.
CNN later confirmed the meeting and reported Santos would remain off the committees until his issues were “resolved.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) spoke to CNN’s Manu Raju about the meeting and said it was a decision made entirely by Santos.
“He just felt like there was so much drama really over the situation, especially with what we’re doing to work towards removing Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee,” the congresswoman said.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) also confirmed the meeting and said Santos made an “appropriate” decision.
“I think it was an appropriate decision that, until he can clear everything up, he’s off of committees right now,” he told reporters.
He remains defiant about any potential resignation, even taking to Twitter recently to accuse the media of trying to “smear” him.
“From interviewing clowns, to creating fake ‘posts’ the media continues to down spiral as their attempt to smear me fails. I am getting the job I signed up for done, while you all spiral out of control,” he wrote.
A new survey from Newsday and Siena College based in the congressman’s district in New York found a large majority want Santos to resign, with 78 percent of respondents saying the Republican should step down. Only 13 percent believe he should keep representing the district.
Watch above via CNN.
