Punchbowl News: “The House Republican leadership, which seems to be getting its sea legs still, handled this episode quite strangely.”
“After the House Ethics Committee released its scathing report about Santos, Speaker Mike Johnson put out a statement saying the report was ‘troubling’ and lawmakers should ‘consider the best interests of the institution as this matter is addressed further.’”
“Johnson spoke to Santos several times in the past week about his ‘options’… During a leadership meeting earlier this week, Johnson said he told Santos that if he resigned, it would spare a lot of lawmakers a tough vote.”
“Then on Friday morning, Johnson announced he’d vote against expelling Santos. The tops of the House GOP leadership – Majority Leader Steve Scalise, GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and Majority Whip Tom Emmer – followed suit.”
