Jeffries tells House GOP to ‘clean up your house’ over George Santos controversy
Samantha-Jo Roth
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said it’s on Republicans to handle the growing controversy surrounding Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who has been facing calls to resign after it was discovered he lied to voters and fabricated portions of his resume and personal life.
“The spectacle that is George Santos speaks for itself. He’s a complete and total fraud. He lied to the voters of the 3rd Congressional District in New York, deceived and connived his way into Congress. It’s now the responsibility of House Republicans to do something about it,” the New York Democrat said during a press conference on Thursday morning.
GEORGE SANTOS REFUSES TO STEP DOWN AFTER NEW YORK REPUBLICANS CALL FOR ‘IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION’
“This is not a partisan issue. But it is an issue that Republicans need to handle — clean up your house, and you can start with George Santos,” he said.
Despite calls from a growing number of GOP members of Congress to step down, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said on Thursday that Santos will remain in office and that he would be held accountable if a House Ethics Committee investigation finds any wrongdoing.
So far, Santos has defiantly refused to step down, but on Thursday, the congressman exited his office and told reporters he would resign if “142 people” asked him to.
Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) announced the “Stopping Another Non Truthful Office Seeker” Act, also known as the SANTOS Act, on Wednesday. The bill would require candidates running for Congress to file information about their biographies with the Federal Election Commission. The legislation proposes that willingly providing false information should be punishable by a fine, prison, or both.
Jeffries addressed an ethics investigation at the Thursday press conference. “I was well aware of their decision to do so, but any matters before the Ethics Committee are before the Ethics Committee and should be resolved by members of the Ethics Committee,” he said. “I’ve made my appointments to the Ethics Committee. They take seriously their responsibility.”
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Jeffries also spoke against a newly established select committee that Republicans say will launch an investigation of the agencies and the people who probed former President Donald Trump. The subcommittee will be under the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is expected to lead the panel.
The committee will have 13 members, with five recommended by Jeffries. The House minority leader has not confirmed whether the Democrats intend to participate, but aides say it is likely they will do so.
“We cannot allow extreme MAGA Republicans to determine who serves on committees in the 118th Congress on the Democratic side,” Jeffries said. “The so-called select committee to investigate the investigators and obstruct justice and protect insurrectionists is not something the American people expect responsible representatives to do on their behalf.”