U.S. Rep. Santos to recuse himself from committee assignments

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative George Santos, who has admitted to fabricating much of his resume, told fellow Republican lawmakers on Tuesday he would not serve on committees for now, lawmakers said.

House of Representatives' Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the freshman lawmaker asked if he could recuse himself from his committee assignments while he works to clear up an ethics cloud. McCarthy called it an "appropriate decision."

"The voters have elected him," McCarthy told reporters. "He'll have a voice here in Congress. And until he answers all those (ethics) questions, then at that time, he'll be able to be seated on committees."

The embattled congressman has faced calls from fellow New York Republicans to step down over fabrications about his career and history.

Santos, who announced his decision in a closed-door meeting with fellow Republican lawmakers, has rebuffed calls for his resignation, saying he would vacate his seat only if he loses the next election.

"He just said he recused himself for a while and then he'll come back," Representative Don Bacon told reporters.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan and David Morgan; Writing by Paul Grant; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Tim Ahmann)