WASHINGTON — Home Republicans awarded embattled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., seats on two Home committees Tuesday, at the same time as he faces federal, state and native investigations and fellow Republicans demand that he resign.
The GOP Steering Committee, which is led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California and doles out committee assignments, voted to provide Santos slots on the Science, House and Expertise Committee and the Small Enterprise Committee, that are two of the lower-profile panels on Capitol Hill.
Small Enterprise Committee Chairman Roger Williams, R-Texas, confirmed Santos’ appointment to his panel. Two GOP sources mentioned Santos would additionally serve on the Science committee.
“I do not agree with what [Santos] mentioned, did and all. I do not agree with any of that, OK? It is mistaken,” Williams mentioned in a telephone interview Tuesday. “However on the identical time, he is on the committee. We’re gonna have guidelines to observe. He does symbolize about one million folks in New York and plenty of Fundamental Road points.”
Requested whether or not Santos could be a distraction to his committee, Williams replied: “It is solely going to be a distraction to those that wish to distract.”
“We’ll have plenty of work to do, and we’ll do some good things, and he’ll be part of it. And if there’s questions, we’ll reply the questions. … In the event that they assume [Santos’ controversy] goes to be the principle factor that comes out of the committee, they are going to actually miss the boat.”
Some Republicans, together with Fundamental Road Caucus Chairman Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, had argued that Santos shouldn’t be seated on any committee after he admitted to embellishing and mendacity about main features of his biography as he ran for Congress final 12 months.
Members of each events had raised considerations about Santos’ getting access to categorised data by way of a committee spot. A Home Republican who incessantly handles categorised paperwork and knowledge mentioned final week that Santos “most likely shouldn’t be on Intelligence” or the Armed Providers Committee, particularly suggesting the Small Enterprise Committee as a safer place to seat him.
Given Republicans’ razor-thin, four-seat majority, McCarthy and his management workforce are standing by Santos, at the same time as McCarthy promised that he wouldn’t be given a seat on any prime “A” committees, like Methods and Means, Vitality and Commerce or Monetary Providers.
McCarthy mentioned Tuesday that the choice to grant Santos committee slots was made by the Steering Committee and that he didn’t make the choice alone. Requested why Santos was given two committee assignments, McCarthy mentioned that was commonplace protocol.
“Each member within the Republican Convention has two except they’re on [an] ‘A’ committee, you then simply get one. And [a] variety of folks have three,” McCarthy mentioned.
