The White House contends House Republicans should determine their own “terms of standards and service” after being asked whether scandal-embroiled Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY) should be seated in the new Congress.
“This is something that the House Republicans, the Republican conference, they will have to decide what they owe to the American people in terms of standards and service,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday. “That is something that they have to decide on, and so we leave it to them.”
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Santos, who represents northern Long Island and northeast Queens, sat by himself during the first session of the 118th Congress as he and his colleagues voted for a new speaker. Santos faces federal, state, and county investigations after he was accused of lying about his ancestry, education, employment history, charity work, and property ownership during his campaign. Santos, for example, claimed to be “a proud American Jew,” but the Catholic was later adamant he said he was “Jew-ish.”
Jean-Pierre’s Santos answer was similar to her response to questions about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy‘s (R-CA) troubled leadership bid. McCarthy was unable to secure the support of 218 House lawmakers during the first and second ballots, becoming the first candidate for speaker in more than 100 years not to be elected to the role after one round of voting.
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“He’s just not going to insert himself,” the press secretary said of President Joe Biden. “He’s going to let the process play out and continue to do the work of the American people.”
