US Representative George Santos, who lied about much of his resume and life story, will be removed from Congress if found to have broken campaign finance laws, fellow Republican and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said on Sunday, according to Reuters.
"He's a bad guy," Comer was quoted as having said on CNN's "State of the Union" program. "It's not up to me or any other member of Congress to determine whether he can be kicked out for lying. Now, if he broke campaign finance laws, then he will be removed from Congress."
A New York prosecutor launched an investigation against Santos in late December after he admitted to "embellishing" his resume.
Santos has also come under fire for falsely claiming to have Jewish heritage. The Forward had questioned a claim on Santos’ campaign website that his grandparents “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and again fled persecution during WWII.”
In another story, the site noted that he'd called himself a "proud American Jew" in a position paper that was shared with Jewish and pro-Israel leaders during his campaign.
Santos later maintained that he still identifies as “Jew-ish” despite reports showing that his grandparents were Catholics born in Brazil.
Santos has repeatedly refused to resign, even as pressure has grown within his own party for him to do so. Last week, he said he would vacate his New York City-area seat only if he loses the next election.
More than a dozen Republican officials, many of them from Santos' district, which covers parts of Queens and Long Island, have demanded the resignation of the newly elected congressman. At least six of his fellow Republican representatives from New York have joined the calls for him to step down, noted Reuters.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said he will leave Santos' fate to the Ethics Committee and voters.