A newly elected congressman from the Hudson Valley is joining a group of lawmakers with national security backgrounds to demand House Speaker Kevin McCarthy take immediate action to keep their scandalized colleague, Rep. George Santos, away from classified information.

In his first interview from his house office since being sworn-in over the weekend, Rep. Pat Ryan told News 12's Senior Investigative Reporter Tara Rosenblum he's outlined his concerns in a detailed letter to McCarthy.

MORE: Rep. Santos quickly dismisses Nassau GOP's call for him to resign

The freshman Democrat from Ulster called the issue a national security concern.

"As someone who served in combat, had a top security clearance as an intelligence officer, there is no way that George Santos should have access to top secret information, yet right now he does by virtue of being a member of Congress - that needs to be stopped immediately. That is a direct threat to national security," he says.

As News 12 has reported, Ryan is the first West Point graduate to represent the military academy in Congress and says defense issues are high on his agenda.

He now serves on the Armed Services Committee, and says he'll fight for a strong defense bill. He's also vowing to try to stop what could amount to sweeping cuts for Medicare and Social Security.