U.S. Representative George Santos (R-NY) is expected to face an investigation from the House Ethics Committee, a probe that could lead to his expulsion from Congress and completely derail his already imperiled political career if the panel turns up serious evidence of wrongdoing.
Asked if the embattled freshman is under investigation by the committee, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy initially told CNN that Santos is the subject of ethics committee complaints.
“There are questions. I expect them to get answered,” he said when asked if he expected the panel to probe Santos.
McCarthy has so far not called on Santos to resign, saying previously his fate should be decided by voters. But he has increasingly suggested that the House ethics probe could change his posture to the lying freshman.
“Ethics is moving through, and if ethics finds something, we’ll take action,” McCarthy told CNN on Tuesday when asked about calls for his resignation. “Right now, we’re not allowing him to be on committees from the standpoint of the questions that have arisen.”
Santos has voluntarily stepped down from two House committees even though McCarthy and his allies initially awarded him the spots. McCarthy later said that he had “new questions” about the freshman but declined to say what those were, indicating he agreed with Santos’ decision to step down from those panels.
Confronted with growing questions about fabricating his past and about his campaign finances, Santos has remained defiant, insisting he would continue to serve in the House. But even some fellow New York GOP freshmen say “it’s time for Santos to hang it up.”
Asked if House Ethics “is actually investigating” Santos, McCarthy told me earlier: “Yes.”
He later said there are ethics complaints and the panel hasn’t officially organized. But he expects qs “to get answered.”
Either way, panel expected to probe Santos https://t.co/ZXKxD1Vbhp pic.twitter.com/oBYseZXZg9— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 7, 2023
