New York Rep. George Santos temporarily leaves committee assignments

WASHINGTON — Rep. George Santos, the embattled first-term Republican from New York, told his colleagues Tuesday morning that he would temporarily recuse himself from sitting on congressional committees, the first crack in his defiant stance as he faces multiple investigations and calls from members of his party to resign.

Santos, who since being elected in November has admitted to fabricating parts of his resume and is under scrutiny for what appears to have been a yearslong pattern of deception, was named in the new Congress to serve on the committees on small business and on science, space and technology. Republicans have made no move to penalize him, even in the face of a litany of revelations about his conduct that he has refused to address.

His decision to step down from his committees came after he met privately with Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday night. McCarthy told reporters Tuesday that Santos had brought up the idea and that it was an “appropriate decision” for now, “until he could clear everything up.”

“With the ongoing attention surrounding both my personal and campaign financial investigations, I have submitted a request to Speaker McCarthy that I be temporarily recused from my committee assignments until I am cleared,” Santos said in a statement later on Tuesday, adding that the decision would give him time to “properly clear my name before returning to my committees.”

Santos’ move comes as McCarthy is attempting to persuade Republicans to vote to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and just a week after he unilaterally blocked Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, both California Democrats, from serving on the House committee overseeing intelligence matters. Democrats have criticized McCarthy for allowing Santos, who is under federal and local investigation in the United States and faces fraud charges in Brazil, to serve on panels while removing members of their party who are not accused of any crimes.

The decision by Santos appeared calculated, at least in part, to insulate Republicans against charges of hypocrisy before they turn to the task of trying to remove Omar from a committee seat, a step that a number of rank-and-file GOP members have said they oppose.

“He just felt like there was so much drama, really, over the situation,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said of Santos, speaking after he announced his decision at a closed-door Republican conference meeting. “Especially with what we’re doing to work to remove Ilhan Omar.”

Greene was stripped of her committee assignments in 2021 by a vote forced by Democrats who acted after McCarthy, then the minority leader, refused to remove her after social media posts surfaced from before Greene was in Congress in which she espoused conspiracy theories, made bigoted statements and supported calls for the execution of top Democrats.

She called the move by Santos “honorable.”

“You can tell that it’s been pretty stressful being under the spotlight,” she said. She said the first-term congressman had apologized to his colleagues on Tuesday for “any problems that he felt it may have caused for anyone.”

McCarthy has said he wants to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee because of past comments she made about Israel that Republicans and Democrats criticized as employing antisemitic tropes. But it is unclear whether he has the support of enough Republicans to do so.

“I don’t know that he has the votes,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., one of the critics of removing Omar. Mace said the move was “unconstitutional” and hypocritical for the Republican Party, which has railed against “cancel culture.”

Other Republicans have raised free speech concerns.

“The reason I think a lot of Republicans want to kick Ilhan Omar off of the Foreign Affairs Committee is because they don’t like what she has to say,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said Monday, noting he was still undecided on how he would vote.

Some Republicans regarded Santos’ decision to recuse himself as problematic because it could be seen as an admission of guilt and might raise more questions about how he could effectively represent his constituents while facing multiple investigations and a deep lack of trust from his own party.

“I learned in Congress that most of the hard work for my former district was done in committees,” said former Rep. Steve Israel, a Democrat who represented a large portion of Santos’ district. “That’s where bipartisan relations are formed, where legislation important to your district is crafted, where you can advocate for your constituents.”

“Stepping down from committees is a disservice to his constituents,” Israel said. “He needs to step down from Congress.”

House Republican leaders, who hold a four-seat majority, have not called on Santos to resign, even as he has faced pressure to do so from New York Republicans. McCarthy has said that the decision should be left up to voters.

“George has voluntarily removed himself from committees as he goes through this process, but ultimately, voters decide,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said Tuesday. She has stuck with Santos even as others in the state have leaned on him to step down.

A poll by Newsday and Siena College conducted last week found that voters in Santos’ district overwhelmingly thought he should step down. About 78% of those surveyed said they believed Santos should resign, including 71% of Republicans.

Of those who voted for Santos in November, 63% said they would not have done so had they known what they did now about the representative.

The decision to step down from committee assignments was also contrary to how Santos has been conducting himself. After weeks of dodging the hordes of cameras and reporters who follow his every move in the Capitol, he has taken on a more combative approach in which he appeared to be relishing his notoriety.

He has left doughnuts and coffee for the reporters permanently parked outside his office. And he has more forcefully pushed back on allegations against him, including that he stole thousands of dollars from a GoFundMe account that was intended to pay for lifesaving surgery for a disabled veteran’s service dog, which died after it failed to receive the operation.

Channeling former President Donald Trump’s old Twitter persona, Santos has hit back at comedians who have mocked him and positioned himself as a fighter under siege by the liberal news media.

“From interviewing clowns, to creating fake ‘posts’ the media continues to down spiral as their attempt to smear me fails,” he tweeted last week. “I am getting the job I signed up for done, while you all spiral out of control.”