WASHINGTON – House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday he doesn’t “see anyway” lying Long Island Rep. George Santos can be given access to America’s most sensitive information but did not rule out placing him on a less significant committee.
“I don’t see any way that he’s going to have top secret [clearance],” said McCarthy (R-Calif.). “He’s got a long way to go to earn trust.”
Last month, Santos admitted to the Post that he had lied during his campaign about virtually everything on his resume, including graduating from Baruch College and NYU, and working for top investment firms Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He also made false claims about his personal life, including that he was a “proud American Jew” whose grandparents escaped Nazi persecution in Europe.
The GOP House Steering Committee, whose members choose which lawmakers should be placed on which committees, has not announced any potential assignment for Santos.
However, the newly elected congressman had already co-sponsored five bills as of Thursday – including bills to block federal funds to universities that don’t ban TikTok; amending the Constitution to limit the number of terms members of Congress can serve; and impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Santos’ office did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment Thursday regarding his desired committee assignments, legislative goals, or the bills he has co-sponsored.
McCarthy on Thursday confirmed Santos would go before the Congressional Ethics Committee “if there are concerns,” but stood by keeping the disgraced lawmaker in the chamber despite top New York Republicans demanding he steps down.
“The voters of his district have elected him. He is seated. He is part of the Republican conference,” McCarthy said. “There are concerns or whatever, so he will go before Ethics. If anything is found to have been wrong, he will be held accountable exactly as anybody else in this body would be.”
The Nassau County Republican Party on Wednesday called on Santos to leave Congress, saying he had “deceived voters” with his “campaign of deceit and lies.”
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) has also called on the 34-year-old to step down, saying in a statement: “It has become clear that Congressman George Santos’ many hurtful lies and mistruths surrounding his history have irreparably broken the trust of the residents he is sworn to serve. For his betrayal of the public’s trust, I call on Congressman George Santos to resign.”
Freshman Reps. Nick LaLota and Nick Langworthy have joined D’Esposito in calling on their fellow New Yorker to leave Congress.
Santos has repeatedly dodged reporters’ questions since taking office and pledged not to give up his seat. On Wednesday, he said on Twitter that he “was elected to serve the people of #NY03, not the party & politicians.”
“I remain committed to doing that and regret to hear that local officials refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living,” Santos wrote. “I will NOT resign!”
