Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has made no move to penalize or marginalize Representative George Santos even in the face of mounting allegations of misconduct and lies by the first-term New York Republican, has signaled that Mr. Santos will be allowed to continue to serve in Congress even after being indicted on federal charges.
“I’ll look at the charges,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday, before an indictment charging Mr. Santos with wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and lying to Congress was unsealed.
“If a person is indicted, they’re not on committees.
“He was already removed from all his committees,” Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and majority leader, said during a morning news conference.
“In America, there is a presumption of innocence but they’re serious charges.