U.S. Representative George Santos (R-NY) chats together with his State of the Union guest and members of his staff as they prepare for the evening in Santos’s office on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Embattled Republican Rep. George Santos of Recent York took a step Tuesday toward a possible bid for a second term within the House, where he’s currently under investigation.
Santos’ campaign filed an announcement of candidacy for the 2024 election cycle with the Federal Election Commission, a move that might signal the freshman lawmaker’s intent to run for reelection.
However the filing doesn’t guarantee Santos, who has been denounced by some in his own party and embroiled in a flurry of investigations, will seek one other term in Congress. After winning his seat, the Recent York Times reported that Santos appeared to have fabricated key details of his background. He later admitted to lying about his biography while he was campaigning for office.
Santos was required to file the shape by Tuesday’s deadline so as to keep a few of his campaign’s contributions that got here after the 2022 cycle and proceed fundraising. The FEC warned last month that Santos would either need to make a proper declaration of his candidacy or else “disavow” his fundraising activities.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s running — it just means his campaign committee is raising money,” Brendan Quinn, senior communications manager for the Campaign Legal Center, told CNBC in an email.
Santos’ reelection plans remain opaque. He reportedly told Recent York Republican leaders late last yr that he would not seek one other term in office, but since entering Congress has adopted a more defiant tone and has reportedly began telling people he’ll run again.
“Rep. Santos’ campaign team has filed his statement of candidacy as required by the FEC,” Santos said in an announcement shared with CNBC through a text from the congressman’s lawyer, Joseph Murray. “No further comments will likely be offered today.”
Santos was sworn into Congress under a cloud of scandal earlier this yr, after the bombshell Recent York Times report questioned key details about his personal and skilled life. Santos later admitted “embellishing” his resume but denied other wrongdoing. As Santos got here under greater scrutiny, more damning accusations got here out, including that he made off with funds that were raised for a disabled veteran’s dying dog and, most recently, that he was involved in a bank card skimming scheme. Santos has denied each allegations.
Earlier this month, the House Ethics panel appointed a subcommittee to research whether Santos engaged in illegal campaign activity, and whether he violated federal conflict of interest laws. The subcommittee can be looking into an allegation of sexual misconduct by a former volunteer on his staff.
Santos has been inundated with calls for his resignation, including from top Recent York Republicans around Santos’ Nassau County-area congressional district and a few GOP members of Congress. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who leads a slim Republican majority in his chamber, has not joined those calls.
Santos has vowed to serve out his full term, saying the voters of his district should get the ultimate say on whether he stays in Congress or leaves. A Siena College poll conducted in January found that Santos’ constituents overwhelmingly want him to resign.
Within the meantime, Santos has removed himself from the 2 House committees to which he was assigned until the “distraction” of the various investigations into his campaign and private funds have subsided.