Santos Gets Nod for Two Committee Assignments

WASHINGTON — Controversial Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has been recommended for seats on the House Small Business and Science, Space and Technologies Committees.

The recommendations were handed down Tuesday evening by the House GOP Steering Committee, a panel consisting of members of the House Republican leadership as well as elected regional representatives.

Though the recommendations from the panel are non-binding, the House GOP Conference, which now must vote on the panel’s choices, typically goes along with its picks.

Santos, of course, continues to be embroiled in a controversy surrounding his admitted fabrications about everything from his background and family heritage to his work and educational experiences.

Santos’ falsehoods were first uncovered by a local Long Island newspaper, The North Shore Leader, ahead of the election in November, but few took heed of its reporting until after voters had sent the two-time candidate to Washington.

He’s also currently the subject of multiple investigations regarding his claims, his campaign finances and, in the case of an inquiry in Brazil, checkbook fraud (something he has denied).

All of this has left the Republican leadership in a delicate position. They’ve declined to call on Santos to resign — his temporary replacement, after all, would be appointed by a Democratic governor ahead of a special election — but they also say they don’t condone what he’s done.

Most are following the lead of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who has maintained that it’s up to the voters of Santos’ district to decide if they want to remove him.

“I try to stick by the Constitution,” McCarthy told reporters shortly after he was elected speaker. 

“The voters elected him to serve. If there is a concern, and he has to go through the ethics, let him move through that,” he said, referring to the House Ethics Committee.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue