McCarthy flip-flops after he’s busted for supporting Santos while saying indicted Dem. must resign

Over the weekend, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy declared the bribery case against indicted New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez (D) “pretty black and white” and “very damaging.” Asked if he should resign, McCarthy replied, “Yeah, very much so.” 

But by Tuesday, not so much.

Related:

George Santos defends Democrat accused of corruption while Tammy Baldwin demands resignation

Why is a Republican like George Santos sticking up for a Democrat under fire?

The reason for McCarthy’s backflip: indicted New York Rep. George Santos (R).

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

Asked by CNN’s Manu Raju, “Do you think that George Santos, who’s been indicted on federal criminal charges, should also resign?” McCarthy stuttered to a different conclusion.

“No, I think George could have his day in court, and I think Menendez could have his day in court,” he said.

Asked again if Menendez should step aside, the Speaker offered a lifeline to the senator and an excuse for his own embattled Republican member to stick around.

“It could be his choice of what he wants to do, yes,” McCarthy said.

Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was indicted by federal prosecutors in New York last week on charges that he accepted bribes in the form of gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for official acts that aided an Egyptian American businessman.

Santos was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in May on seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.

Since Menendez’s indictment last week, a growing number of his Democratic Senate colleagues have called on him to resign, including the junior senator from New Jersey, Cory Booker and out Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

But with both Santos and former President Donald Trump each facing multiple indictments of their own, no Republican senators have called on the New Jersey Democrat to call it quits.

On Wednesday, Menendez pleaded not guilty to the charges.

For his part, Santos is standing by his fellow indicted member of Congress.

“I think due process is important and I think he has a right to defend himself,” Santos told MSNBC. “He’s innocent until proven guilty.”