Since the day he first set foot in Washington, New York Congressman George Santos has been shunned by some Republicans and defended by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The lies he said to win the election.
His broad indictment on Wednesday. Mr. Santos was indicted With wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and lying to Congress on federal disclosure forms, this dynamic could not be changed. But McCarthy and other House Republican leaders, who are operating with a narrow majority, said Santos should be allowed to continue in Congress.
“If someone is indicted, they are not on the committee,” McCarthy told reporters Tuesday before the charges were revealed. “They have the right to vote, but they have to go to court.” It was consistent with the position McCarthy has taken since January when he made no move to do so.
McCarthy allowed Santos to serve on two congressional committees in his first term. McCarthy said it was Santos’ choice when he temporarily left them a few weeks after his appointment.
McCarthy said his calculations about Santos’ future in Congress could change if he is convicted. The speaker also told CNN late Wednesday that he would not support Santos’ re-election and would ask him to resign if the House Ethics Committee found him breaking the law.
Louisiana Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise said at a news conference, “He’s already been fired from all committees.” We will have to go through a formal procedure.”
Fourth-ranked Republican Rep. Ellis Stefanik said the legal process would “end itself.”
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time lawmakers from either party have been indicted,” Stefanik said. She said Republicans are more interested in rooting out “the unemployment pandemic aid fraud.”
Other Republicans, especially Santos’ fellow New Yorkers, were less merciful. called. Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler said Santos’ actions were “disgraceful and disgraceful and he should resign.”
Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack also said Santos was “the punchline for a lot of unnecessary comments about the Republican Party.”
Upstate New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney said she didn’t expect Santos to finish her term, but was “appalled by his actions.” District colleagues close to Santos are mounting political pressure for him to step down immediately, Tenney said.
“I feel like they’re more directly impacting downstate,” she said.
For months, Mr. Santos tried to remain defiantly active, announcing plans to run for re-election in 2024 and turning ideologically in hopes of winning a more tolerant audience on the party’s far right. I even tried to convert. However, he had trouble finding allies to support him. A request to make the re-election announcement on the right-wing influential podcast “War Room,” hosted by former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon, was denied, according to a source familiar with the matter. .
While his relationship with Santos may be a political drag on Republicans, the implications of his resignation will pose leadership challenges. He holds a majority in the House of Representatives The battle over the debt ceiling is looming, McCarthy cannot afford to lose Santos’ vote. The chairman barely passed a bill last month that would raise the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts, and the Republican vote was generous, with Mr. Santos on the “yes” line.
As negotiations with the White House continue, Mr. McCarthy could struggle to keep Republican support on the right wing of the party, making Mr. Santos’ vote all the more important.
Speakers have more pressing legislative concerns. On Wednesday, he struggled to quell opposition to the border security bill, delaying a planned vote on the rules setting up a parliamentary vote on the bill on Thursday. said he planned to go to Washington.
But the indictment of Mr. Santos means Mr. McCarthy may have to plan a legislative schedule around Mr. Santos’ court appearances and trials, further jeopardizing McCarthy’s already tenuous majority support. do.
There is no law or precedent that states that members of Congress cannot continue to hold office while indicted, and there are several examples of members who have served or survived and continued in office before pleading guilty and resigning.
Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, was indicted on bribery charges in 2015. A federal jury was unable to reach a verdict, the judge declared a miscarriage of justiceand today Mr. Menendez is chairman of the Foreign Relations Commission.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, indicted in 2018 for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds. He won’t step down until 2020 after pleading guilty to his guilt.
New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins indicted in 2018resigned before pleading guilty to insider trading and lied to the FBI to cover it up.
And Nebraska Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry said: indicted in 2021 On felony charges related to lying to federal officials investigating illegal campaign contributions. He remained in service until the year following his conviction, at which point he resigned.
McCarthy, then a minority leader, said on Tuesday that belief was what prompted him to tell Fortenbury he needed to step down.
Katie Edmondson contributed to the report.
