Republican New York Rep. George Santos will serve on House committees despite previously admitting to embellishing portions of his resume, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed Tuesday.
Santos lied about much of his professional background, family history and funding while campaigning in New York’s Third Congressional District, and many legislators on both sides of the aisle have since called for him to step down. Despite bipartisan calls for his removal, McCarthy said Santos will serve on committees, but he will not serve on any top House committees, according to The Hill.
“He’ll get seated on committees,” McCarthy said at the Capitol Tuesday.
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Though it is unknown which committees Santos will serve on, he will not serve on top House committees like Appropriations, Ways and Means, Financial Services and Energy and Commerce, McCarthy said last week, according to The Hill.
Following the initial reports of alleged embellishment, some lawmakers urged Santos to resign from Congress, but McCarthy argued that the voters sent him to serve, according to The Hill.
“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 [Committee], let him move through that,” McCarthy said, adding “he will continue to serve,” according to The Hill.
After lawmakers called for Santos to be removed, the representative posted on Twitter that he remains committed to serving. “[I] 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!” he said.
Following Santos’ upset victory in November, media outlets reported that he had lied about portions of his resume, including claims that he worked on Wall Street and that his grandparents were survivors of the Holocaust.
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Santos was also accused of violating campaign finance laws by allegedly falsifying disclosures, concealing funding and using funds for personal expenses, according to The Campaign Legal Center (CLC), a nonpartisan watchdog organization.
The CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), saying Santos violated federal law.
A group of Long Island Republicans called for Santos to step down last week during a press conference, with the Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph G. Cairo saying, “He disgraced the House of Representatives.”
“I join with you, and I join with my colleagues in saying that George Santos does not have the ability to serve here in the House of Representatives and should resign,” Long Island Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito said during the conference.
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