Asa Hutchinson Calls Santos' Falsifications 'Unacceptable'

The numerous falsifications of scandal-plagued Rep.-elect George Santos are unacceptable, outgoing Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican and former House member, told ABC's "This Week."

"There has to be accountability," Hutchinson said over the weekend of Santos, a New York Republican. "That is unacceptable ... I don't know whether you can go so far as to not seat him. But certainly, the Ethics Committee should deal with this. And he has to be held accountable for that. That's unacceptable in politics. It breaches the trust between the electorate and their elected official."

Hutchinson insisted that "we have to have more integrity in our political environment, in our elected leaders, and this destroys that confidence and undermines the integrity that's needed."

Santos has refused to step down after a report in The New York Times last month found no evidence that he had worked on Wall Street, went to New York's Baruch College or had a real estate portfolio that helped rescue animals, all of which he had claimed to do while he was on the campaign trail before his election in November, Politico reported.

Kentucky Republican James Comer, the incoming House oversight committee chair, told Fox News that he was "pretty confident" the Ethics Committee would open a probe into the matter, The Guardian reported. "What Santos has done is a disgrace. He has lied to the voters."

The options for punishing Santos are "probably up to House leadership," Rep. Mike Quigley told MSNBC, according to Politico.

The Illinois Democrat said that "given the razor-thin majority [the Republicans] have, I think that's unlikely."

But Quigley pointed out that in "any other job in the world, you'd get fired. Unfortunately, we don't have that option in Congress."

• Rep.-Elect Santos Faces Criminal Probe Over Campaign Lies
• Rep. Brady: Santos Must Take 'Huge Steps' To Regain Trust