Santos quits House roles amid lying claims

GEORGE SANTOS, the fabulist Republican congressman, has decided to temporarily step down from his roles on two committees.

It came after weeks of sustained pressure from Democrats and some Republicans, for Mr Santos to be held accountable over a series of alleged lies about his past.

He has faced numerous calls to resign from Congress over claims about his qualifications, job history, and his personal and campaign finances.

The 34-year-old who entered Congress last month, had been assigned to the House committee on small business and the House science, space and technology committee. A day after meeting with Kevin Mccarthy, the Republican House speaker, he told colleagues he would be stepping down from the committees.

Mr Santos, who represents New York, has been accused of lying about being Jewish and falsely claiming that he attended top colleges and worked for Wall Street banks.

He has also faced accusations, which he denied, of stealing $3,000 (£2,430) from a homeless veteran who was raising money for his dying dog.

Tom Cole, a Republican congressman from Oklahoma, said of his colleague’s decision to step down: “I think it was the appropriate thing to do and I was proud of him for getting up and doing this.” Asked whether he was considering resigning, Mr Santos said: “No, I am not.”

Democrats have been highly critical of both Mr Santos, and Mr Mccarthy for seating him on committees.

Adam Schiff, a Democrat congressman from California, said: “The hypocrisy just grabs you by the throat. This is a Republican speaker who is sitting a human fraud, George Santos, on committees.”

Mr Mccarthy had initially said Mr Santos would be allowed to sit on the committees, pending the outcome of a House ethics committee investigation.

Last week, he said: “If, when we go through ethics, and he has broken the law, then we will remove him.”