In an interview on CNN on Wednesday (May 20), House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA.) revealed he would not be supporting the reelection bid of Republican Representative George Santos (N.Y.) after the Congressman was indicted on 13 alleged financial crimes.
“I’m not going to support him,” McCarthy told CNN’s Manu Raju.
Raju followed up by asking if McCarthy would try to help eliminate Santos, who has announced his intention to run again in the 2024 GOP primary, despite the allegations that await him.
McCarthy replied that he believed Santos “has a lot going on” and that the New York Republican had “other things to focus on” currently other than running for another term.
McCarthy’s comments are the furthest the speaker has gone against Santos continuing his time in Congress.
In February, the House Speaker said he would have “difficulty” endorsing the embattled rookie congressman after it was revealed that Santos made various false claims about his personal, professional, and educational background while running for the House of Representatives.
All those accusations came to a head on Wednesday (May 10) when Santos was indicted on 13 charges, including seven counts of bank fraud, two counts of materially false statements to the House, three counts of money laundering, and one count of theft of public funds.
Even before the indictment, many Democrats and a handful of Republicans, most of whom are from Santos’ home state of New York, have called for him to resign over the revelations, but Santos is adamant he will stay.
However, McCarthy and other top GOP House leaders have yet to join calls for his resignation.
Santos pleaded not guilty to all charges Wednesday and told reporters he was working to clear his name.
