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JANET BURNS
from Glen Cove-Oyster Bay Record Pilot Anton Media Group's latest hyper-local coverage of this week's top
jburns@antonmediagroup.com
There was a lot of competition this past week vis-à-vis news items that would qualify for our “Santos Watch” series, but likely the biggest splash for Representative George Santos (NY-03) surrounds one of the main jobs of a U.S. rep: serving on committees.
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Less than two weeks after he was reportedly tapped to serve on the Small Business Committee and Science, Space and Technology Committee, Santos announced that he was recusing himself from the two House committees, creating national headlines.
In a January 31 statement emailed to press (under a letterhead reading “George Santos,” as opposed to the “George DevolderSantos” header he used earlier that month), Santos said: “With the ongoing attention surrounding both my personal and campaign financial investigations, I have submitted a request to Speaker McCarthy that I be temporarily recused from my committee assignments until I am cleared.”
“This was a decision that I take very seriously. The business of the 118th Congress must continue without media fanfare. It is important that I primarily focus on serving the constituents of New York’s Third Congressional District and providing federal level representation without distraction.”
The same day, Reps. Nick LaLota (NY-01) and Anthony D’Esposito (NY-04) released the following joint statement:
“This is a classic case of someone quitting right before they were going to get fired. While we, and the overwhelming percentage of Long Islanders we represent, are relieved to see that Santos will not be undeservedly sitting on committees, he should still do the right thing and resign. That is what is in the best interest of his constituents and House Republicans.”
Other Recent Highlights:
• The Federal Election Commission (FEC), already pointed in Santos’ direction by numerous parties, has been making inquiries about the source of Santos’ campaign and/ or personal funds, as well as the fact that the man he listed as his treasurer on paperwork denies holding that job.
• According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Attorney General has asked the FEC to step aside for the sake of its own investigation(s).
• On January 31, the FEC made public the resignation letter it received from Santos’ previous
