McCarthy Says Santos Can Serve on Committees As Some Republicans Call for His Resignation

SPeaker of the House Kevin McCarthy On Wednesday, (R-CA), addressed the controversy surrounding freshman Rep. George Santos. (R-NY). He said he would not keep Santos off committees while he faces ethics complaints.

McCarthy said that although he didn’t think Santos should hold a seat on any top committee, he wouldn’t stop him from being on all panels. This week, the House Republican Steering Committee will decide which committees to assign. As speaker, McCarthy has a lot of influence over these decisions.

GEORGE SANTOS SCANDAL – A RUNNING LISTE OF THE HOUSE RESUBILICAN’S MOST QUESTIONABLE CLAIMS

“I try to stick by the Constitution. The voters elected him to serve. If there is a concern and he has to go through the Ethics, we’ll let him move through that, but right now, the voters have a voice in the decision … so he will continue to serve,” McCarthy stated. “He’s gonna have to build the trust here, and he’s gonna have the opportunity to try to do that. … Is there a charge against him? In America today, you are innocent until proven guilty.”

Santos is accused in lying about his biography including his employment history and improperly using campaign money. He claims that his family survived the Holocaust, that he holds degrees from New York colleges, and that he worked at Goldman Sachs.

“I was elected to serve the people of #NY03 not the party & politicians, I remain committed to doing that and regret to hear that local officials refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living. I will NOT resign!” After the Nassau County Republicans demanded that Santos resign, Santos took to Twitter Wednesday.

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R.-SD) stated that Santos should not be on any panel.

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“I think there’s some legitimate concerns being raised about how he conducted himself during the campaign,” Johnson Telled NBC News. “And if it was up to me, I wouldn’t seat the guy at any committees until we have a fuller understanding … of exactly what he did.”

Under intense scrutiny, Santos was sworn in to Congress Friday after he won a new competitive district in November.