House GOP Leaders Hold Presser As Rep. Santos Recused From Committees

Senior Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives are currently holding a press briefing - set to be a weekly event - outlining their legislative priorities. Link to livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Fd959QOBc The briefings involving House majority leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), and GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) will provide a useful signal of policy objectives of House Republicans, which now hold a majority in the chamber following the Nov midterms.

• Comes as controversial Congressman George Santos (R-NY) recuses himself from the two committee assignments handed to him (Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Small Business) until issues surrounding his background are resolved. CNN reports, "Federal prosecutors are also investigating Santos’ finances, and he continues to face a myriad of questions about his personal finances."
• Santos held a meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on 30 Jan, with the speaker saying that Santos is recused, “Until he answers all those questions, then at that time, he’ll be able to be seated on committees,”
• Usually the actions of one lawmaker would not be of relevance to markets. However, given the extremely narrow majority for Republicans in the House (222-212), developments that could see a change in representative gain increased importance in terms of the ability of Congress to pass legislation.