House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s appearance on CBS’ “Face The Nation” Sunday in which he addressed lingering controversy over liar and fabricator Rep. George Santos found him doing “gymnastics” to dodge the issue in a bid to fall in line with Republican politics, “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski said.
When pressed on “Face the Nation” why he hasn’t initiated an effort to remove Santos – who has fabricated numerous lies about his past en route to being elected in a New York district – McCarthy did appear to deflect.
The California Republican said because voters “voted proxy” for Santos, he had no choice but to agree to treat him like any other congressman.
McCarthy, who appointed Santos to two committees, first quipped in an even tone that he “wholeheartedly” believes “that Congress is broken” and added, “I want to open the House for the public.
“If every single new person brought into Congress was elected, (what) their constituents have done is lend their voice to the American public so those members can all serve on committee,” McCarthy said. He added “What I’m trying to do is change some of these committees, like the intel committee — “ at which point he was interrupted by “Face The Nation” host Margaret Brennan, who demanded he answer the question about Santos.
McCarthy then deflected snidely.
Later, “Morning Joe” pointed out polls shows 73% of Americans say the GOP “haven’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important issues” and just one quarter of those surveyed – 27% – agree that House GOP leaders “have the right priorities.”
“It’s painful, (McCarthy is) just doing gymnastics there,” Mika Brzezinski said. “Santos seems ‘not well,” added Brzezinski “with empathy.” She said she feels Santos’ “voters must feel pretty duped.”
Jonathan Lemire, “Morning Joe” guest and host of “Way Too Early,” then chimed in by saying McCarthy “can’t afford to lose George Santos because he needs his vote and he’s been a reliable partner” of the California Republican.
Watch the “Morning Joe” segment at the top of this page.
