Incoming Republican rep: Santos a distraction to GOP

Rep.-elect Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said the conduct from his fellow New York Republican, Rep.-elect George Santos, is a distraction to the GOP. 

“His conduct is embarrassing and unbecoming, and it is certainly a distraction,” Lawler told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in an interview on “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday. 

Lawler pointed to comments he previously made calling on Santos to fully cooperate with the investigations into him after the revelation came out that Santos made multiple false statements about his educational, work and personal background while running for the House. 

Lawler's remarks came after Brazilian authorities reopened a criminal fraud investigation into Santos over allegations that he used a stolen checkbook and a fake name. 

Santos is also facing investigations from the federal government over his finances and the Nassau County district attorney over his false claims about himself. 

“His election has been certified so he will be seated in this Congress, but ultimately, obviously, we will see what the investigations come back with,” Lawler said. 

Democrats have called on Santos to step aside from his House seat and not be sworn in following the reports of his fabrications. 

Santos admitted to several false claims in an interview with The New York Post nearly two weeks ago, admitting that he did not graduate from Baruch College in New York, did not work at Citigroup or Goldman Sachs and is not Jewish. 

He has said that he did not claim to be Jewish and only said he was “Jew-ish” because of Jewish heritage in his family, but he claimed to be a “proud American Jew” in a position paper during his campaign. 

Lawler also said in the interview that House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) will have the votes he needs to become speaker ahead of Tuesday’s vote. 

“At the end of the day, the conference will dictate who is the Speaker, not any one individual member,” he said. 

McCarthy has been negotiating with Republicans skeptical of him serving as Speaker to try to gather enough support, but it is uncertain whether he will receive enough votes to win. He has made several concessions in the House rules that a handful of Republicans have demanded to be willing to support McCarthy. 

Lawler said the American people are “not interested in this petty fight” ongoing and are more interested in the laws that Congress passes than the rules it has.