George Santos says he will recuse himself from House committees to avoid 'being a distraction'


Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) said Tuesday he will recuse himself from sitting on his assigned committees amid ongoing ethics issues and criminal investigations.
Santos made the announcement in a closed-door meeting with House Republicans, sources said, telling colleagues he would not sit on the House Small Business Committee or the Science, Space, and Technology Committee. While Santos himself refused to comment on the meeting, two GOP House members, Roger Williams (Texas) and Mike Lawler (N.Y.) told Axios that Santos had indeed pledged to step down from his assignments.
Santos reportedly told those in the room he was recusing himself "to prevent from being a distraction."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A spokesperson for Santos later confirmed his decision to NBC News.
"[Santos] has reserved to see it until he has cleared up both campaign and personal financial investigations," the spokesperson said.
The freshman congressman has admitted to fabricating numerous portions of his background and education. This includes lying about where he went to college, lying about his religious and ethnic background, and lying about his work experience at Wall Street firms.
Despite this, the newly led Republican House, helmed by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) previously doled out the pair of committee assignments to Santos.
Santos is also facing criminal investigations in New York over alleged campaign finance violations.
His decision to remove himself from the committees comes as a new poll, released Tuesday by Newsday-Siena College, found 78 percent of voters in Santos' district thought he should resign from Congress. Many Republicans have also said the same.
Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.), who serves in Santos' neighboring district, told The New York Times Santos "did not have the ability" to represent the people of his state. He has been joined by many other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
How successful would Elon Musk's third party be?
Today's Big Question Musk has vowed to start a third party after falling out with Trump
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation