Santos Will Be Removed if Recommended by Ethics Committee, Warns McCarthy
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has stated that, if the House Ethics Committee finds that controversial new Republican Representative George Santos (NY) has broken the law, he will face removal from Congress.
Facts
- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has stated that, if the House Ethics Committee finds that controversial new Republican Representative George Santos (NY) has broken the law, he will face removal from Congress.
- However, McCarthy also told reporters at a press conference outside his Capitol office on Tuesday that, without such a decision from the Ethics Committee, he would stand by the Long Island Rep., saying "his constituents voted for him".
- Santos was referred to the House Ethics Committee earlier this month, when NY Democratic Reps. Dan Goldman and Richie Torres filed a complaint over his inability to "file timely, accurate and complete financial disclosure reports."
- It has been reported by multiple outlets that Santos has fabricated much of his publicly-known life, including claims that he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, graduated from Baruch College, was of Jewish descent, and that his mother was in the World Trade Center on 9/11.
- The new congressman is being probed by several federal, state, and local entities — last week he was referred to the Small Business Committee as well as the Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Santos has said that he would resign if the 142K people who voted for him demanded it.
Sources: Independent, Axios, NBC, Aol, and FOX News.
Narratives
- Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. McCarthy has tried to deflect responsibility for Santos to the House Ethics Committee, which has already demonstrated its double standards in the way Democrats Schiff and Swalwell have been treated. The decision is a weak one by McCarthy — the GOP leadership are clearly unable to live up to their 2010 promise of a "zero-tolerance policy" for members caught up in controversies.
- Republican narrative, as provided by Federalist. It is clear that Santos has lied, however, Republicans must do the country a favor and stop the moral preening. Whatever the truth of his past, so long as Santos is a reliable supporter of the things that matter in the GOP-controlled House, it is better for him to stay.
