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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 his 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 this month to serve on the committees on small business and on science, space and technology.
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.”
“He just felt like there was so much drama, really, over the situation,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., explained after a GOP conference meeting, calling the decision “pretty bold.”
Greene noted that the move was not permanent and said it was made in part because House Republican leaders are trying to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from the Foreign Affairs Committee, although it is not clear they have the votes to do so.
