Rep. George Santos under investigation by House ethics panel, McCarthy confirms

WASHINGTON - The House Ethics Committee is investigating Long Island Rep. George Santos, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed Tuesday.

"Well, the one thing I've known as the questions have arisen. The people of his district had voted for him in the process," McCarthy said Ethics is moving through and if ethics finds something, we'll take action."

And while Santos said it was his choice to temporarily step aside from serving on committees, McCarthy said he was forced off of them.

"Right now, we're not allowing him to be on committees from the standpoint of the questions that have arisen," McCarthy said.

The Long Island Republican admitted that he fabricated much of the resume he used during the campaign for New York's 3rd Congressional District.

A new letter sent to the Federal Election Commission questions at least $30,000 in donations from individuals who may not exist. Only two of the more than 70 donors we reached out to last week answered our calls. Neither wanted to discuss their contributions.

Skepticism surrounding Santos has continued to grow. According to a Newsday/Siena poll, 78% of constituents want him to resign, 75% said he cannot be an effective representative.

"89% of Democrats, 72% of independents, and 71% republicans," said Don Levy with Siena College Research Institute. "Rarely do you see numbers that are that aligned."

Some political experts say that Santos stepping down from his committee assignments may have marked the beginning of the end.

"The stepping down may be the first in a series of steps where he decides that it’s just not worth it," said political analyst Michael Balboni with Redland Strategies.