- Republican Rep. George Santos will serve on two House committees.
- According to reports, Santos will participate in both the small business panel and the scientific panel.
- Santos’ string of scandals has put into question whether he will be a member of any board.
Embattled Republican Rep. George Santos will reportedly serve on two House committees, a sign that the New York Republican, who is facing calls from the GOP to resign, will still have some of the usual powers granted to new members.
Santos will also serve on the Small Business Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee, multiple newspaper houses reported Tuesday. Neither commission is considered a high-profile task. It is rare for a representative to be a member of a larger committee in his first term.
GOP Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, chairman of the Small Business Panel, he told CNN that he did not “forgive” Santos’ behavior. He added that since Santos was elected, he should represent his constituents in the committees. Matt VanHyfte, a spokesman for the Small Business Committee, confirmed to Insider that Santos will be a member of the committee.
Several Republican presidents, particularly those dealing with national security issues, have made it clear they do not want Santos on their committees. Santos faces multiple investigations, including a fraud case in Brazil.
A handful of House Republicans, including fellow members of the New York delegation, have called on Santos to resign amid a series of scandals related to Santos’ repeated lies about his resume, experience and background. Just last week, the Nassau County Republican Party and the New York State Conservative Party officially called on the freshman to step down. Santos quickly rejected those calls.
“I was elected to serve the people of #NY03, not a party and politicians, I remain committed to that and I am sorry to hear that local officials are refusing to work with my office to get results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living,” he wrote. Santos tweeted in response, “I will NOT resign!”
Among Santos’ lies are claims that would directly apply to the two boards he will now serve on.
Santos worked for a company the Securities and Exchange Commission later accused of running a “classic Ponzi scheme.” Santos denied any knowledge of wrongdoing. The Republican congressman also lied about working for Goldman Sachs and CitiGroup. As for his climate falsehoods, as reported by E&E, Santos also helped develop clean carbon capture technology and was significantly involved in oil and gas development.
The extent of Santos’ lies and embellishments, which include the false claim that his mother died on 9/11, would be difficult for any panel not to overlap with at least some of his claims.
Serving on committees is a key function of membership in Congress. Although House Republicans have promised a more open amendment process, there have been few opportunities to amend legislation in parliament in recent years. This means that lawmakers have the best chance of shaping bills at the committee level where it is common for the president to hold formal “acknowledgments” where members are freer to change the underlying laws.
Santos’ office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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