Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is stepping down from his committee assignments, he informed House GOP colleagues on Tuesday in a conference meeting.

The representative had faced a whirlwind of criticism over numerous fabrications and misrepresentations of his resume and personal history, as well as questions about his personal and campaign finances.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said that that Santos informed the Conference he would recuse himself from committees “temporarily” until “things get settled.”

One source told The Hill that Santos called himself a “distraction.”

“And then he asked that we all support him when everything settles down for him to serve on committees,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told reporters after the meeting.

The House GOP Steering Committee, the panel of Republican leaders who assign committees, had assigned Santos to the Small Business Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee earlier this month. 

Santos’s move comes after he met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday.

“I met with George Santos yesterday and I think it was a appropriate decision that until he could clear everything up he’s off of committees right now,” McCarthy told reporters following the closed-door conference hearing.

“We had a discussion, he asked me if he could do that. So I think it was the appropriate decision,” McCarthy said.

The Speaker said the spots initially set aside for Santos could be filled “on a temporary basis,” adding that Santos will “be able to get committees back” once he is cleared.

Pressed on what it would mean for Santos to have his name cleared, McCarthy pointed to an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

“Going through Ethics on some of these concerns,” McCarthy said. “The voters have elected him, they’ll have a voice here in Congress, until he answers all those questions then he’ll, at that time he’ll be able to be seated on committees.”

Greene said Santos also colleagues he was recusing himself amid the controversy surrounding him, and as Republican leadership works to shore up support to block Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the Foreign Affairs Committee, which has drawn some opposition within the conference.

Some Democrats have pointed to Santos being seated on committees as a point of criticism for the effort against Omar.

“Just all the controversy surrounding him and then while we’re working to remove Ilhan Omar from Foreign Affairs,” Greene said.

This story was updated at 10:31 a.m.