Rep. Santos refuses to resign following calls from NY Republicans
Republican leaders called for New York Rep. George Santos to immediately step down following accusations he lied about his past.
LEARN MOREPosted: 12:43 p.m. EST Jan 18, 2023
Despite being under local, state, federal and international investigation, embattled New York Republican Congressman George Santos has been awarded two committee assignments.
Santos has been assigned seats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and the Small Business Committee, which are two of the lower-profile panels in the House of Representatives.
CNN reports Santos had privately lobbied GOP leaders to serve on two more high-profile committees — one overseeing the financial sector and another on foreign policy — but House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the GOP leadership rejected that pitch.
The scandal-plagued representative is being investigated for his largely made-up resume, questionable campaign finances and potentially criminal aspects of his personal history.
This week, New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres demanded a Federal Election Commission investigation into whether Santos violated campaign finance laws.
In a column for NBC News, Torres said: "The presence of this man in Congress is a danger to our democracy and national security, a disgrace to this institution and a major distraction from the pressing problems that are far more worthy of our time, energy and attention ... It's time for Santos to recognize that he cannot serve the public he defrauded. His ability to govern has been weakened by a complete collapse of credibility."
Even a former roommate attacked that credibility this week.
Some Republicans have raised security concerns about Santos possibly having access to classified briefings. But, given the four-vote margin Republicans hold in the House, Republican House leadership has decided to treat Santos like any other member of the House to keep the GOP caucus intact.
But Democrats continue to raise questions about how much McCarthy and other republicans knew of Santos' lies before he won last November.
McCarthy told reporters this week, "I never knew about his resume. ... But I always had a few questions about it."
The New York Times reports that in 2021, a member of Santos' staff pretended to be McCarthy's chief of staff.
To this, McCarthy said his staff flagged Santos and that Santos fired the staffer when an objection was made known.
When it comes to Santos' questionable and lavish campaign expenses — in addition to expensive restaurants — the Times reports he spent tens of thousands of dollars on flights, hotels and Airbnb rentals. Compare that with Congressman Nick LaLota, who represents a neighboring district, who only spent about $4,000.
