Two Orange County congressional candidates recently scrubbed their campaign websites of endorsements from Supervisor Andrew Do, who is facing mounting calls to step down amid allegations the nonprofit he directed millions of dollars in COVID relief funds to instead embezzled the funds meant for feeding the elderly.

Do’s name was listed on the campaign website for Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, as recently as mid-July as one of several local leaders who had endorsed her campaign, but as of Tuesday, Aug. 27, his name is no longer on that list.

Do was also listed on the campaign website of Rep. Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills, as recently as July 16, but his name is no longer to be found on the endorsements section of her website.

“Public officials must be held accountable for their actions, but like any other American are entitled to due process of the law,” Lance Trover, a spokesperson for Steel’s campaign, said about why Do was removed.

Kim’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Both Kim and Steel, who appear to be putting some distance between themselves and Do, are vying for their third congressional terms in districts that national Democrats hope to flip in November. California’s 40th congressional district and 45th congressional district are both part of the 33 Republican-held districts across the country the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has identified as “critical battlegrounds.”

Steel served alongside Do on the Board of Supervisors for several years until she was elected to Congress in 2020 to represent what was then California’s 48th congressional district. Do also endorsed her then.

Trover, Steel’s spokesperson, declined to answer further questions about Do, including if Steel had recently been in contact with him.

Kim, who was also first elected to Congress in 2020, received Do’s endorsement then as well.

Do directed millions of dollars from his district’s discretionary fund to the nonprofit, Viet America Society, where his daughter Rhiannon Do worked at the time. VAS and some of its leaders are at the center of a lawsuit filed by the county accusing the organization of embezzling millions in COVID relief funds intended to feed the elderly during the pandemic, instead using the money to buy homes and make other lavish purchases. Supervisor Do was not mentioned by name in the lawsuit.

Last week, Do’s home and law office were raided by federal agents, as well as the homes of his daughter and VAS president Peter Pham. And he’s facing calls from fellow OC Supervisors Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento to resign from his elected position.

Scott Baugh, who’s running for California’s 47th congressional district, has never been endorsed by Do, said his campaign spokesperson, Nic Gerard. But Baugh, a former GOP Assemblymember and chair of the county Republican Party, has backed Do in the past.

In a 2015 campaign mailer advertising Do’s candidacy in a special election for a board seat, Baugh, who was then serving as chair of the OC GOP said of Do: “Andrew Do is the only candidate we trust and the only one endorsed by the Orange County Republican Party and he needs every one of our votes.”

When asked if he stands by that statement, Baugh said he “strongly condemns the misuse of COVID relief dollars, or of any taxpayer dollars.”

“The allegations surrounding Supervisor Do and others are serious and are apparently under investigation,” Baugh said. “If the allegations are found to be true, we expect the full consequences to be served under the rule of law.”

Staff writers Destiny Torres and Tony Saavedra contributed to this report.