New York Republican Rep. George Santos is temporarily stepping down from his congressional committee assignments amid ongoing investigations surrounding his fabrications.
The beleaguered representative announced on Tuesday he would be voluntarily removing himself from both the House Committee on Small Business as well as the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Santos faces multiple investigations for lies about his personal, professional, and financial background.
"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," Rep. Santos said in a statement. "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," Santos added.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Santos’ decision was appropriate.
"I met with George Santos yesterday, and I think it was the appropriate decision that until he can clear everything up, that he’s off of committees right now," McCarthy told reporters Tuesday. "Until he answers all those questions, then he’ll be able to be seated on committees."
There have also been new questions surrounding Santos’ treasurer switch and whether or not his reporting to the Federal Election Commision complied with law.
In a letter to the Santos campaign last week, the FEC said if it made any "materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation" in its paperwork, there could be criminal charges.
Santos removing himself from committee assignments comes after a Siena College Research Institute poll found 78 percent of voters in his district believe he should resign.
But Santos told reporters Tuesday he was not considering resigning.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
