While some of George Santos’ soon-to-be colleagues are encouraging investigations into his many resume fabrications, Kevin McCarthy’s speakership battle in a narrow majority is complicating his fate.

The New York Republican, who has admitted to fabricating much of his personal and professional biography, is set to be sworn into Congress the same day the House will start votes for a new speaker.

But House GOP leader McCarthy, with only four party votes to spare and an open rebellion among a handful of House conservatives, needs all the support he can get — even if it comes from a member-elect steeped in scandal.

One Republican has openly called for an internal investigation into Santos and others have privately said he’s likely to face probes. Meanwhile, McCarthy and other members of leadership have remained silent about Santos' admitted fabrications about his past, including his Jewish faith, that he worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and that he graduated from Baruch College.

“At a minimum, it was a colossal lack of judgment that has now put the conference in a very difficult position,” retiring Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), who represented a similarly moderate district in the state, said of Santos.

“Do they defend someone they know has made several material misstatements about his background? Or do they cut him loose with a razor-thin majority?” Katko added, calling it a “no-win situation.”

House Republicans generally believe Santos’ future will become clearer once they have an official speaker. But right now, the Republican leader has five members threatening publicly to oppose his speakership bid on Jan. 3, which happens to be the same number required to block him from reaching the needed 218 votes. And the party is buckling in for potentially multiple votes, marking only the second time since the Civil War that the speakership race would go beyond a first ballot.

“McCarthy can’t do anything official until McCarthy is speaker. So that needs to happen before anything else,” said one House Republican who plans to support the California Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “But as for Santos, I think his issues may cost him his chance at a seat in