Two Orange County congressional candidates recently scrubbed their campaign websites of endorsements from County Executive Andrew Do, who is facing mounting calls to resign as the nonprofit to which he transferred millions of dollars in COVID relief funds is accused of instead embezzling funds earmarked for feeding the elderly.

As recently as mid-July, Do’s name was listed on Rep. Michelle Steel’s (R-Seal Beach) campaign website as one of several local politicians endorsing her campaign. However, as of Tuesday, August 27, his name is no longer on the list.

Do was listed on Republican Rep. Young Kim of Anaheim Hills’ campaign website as of July 16, but his name is no longer listed in the “endorsements” section of her website.

“Public officials must be held accountable for their actions, but they are entitled to due process like every other American,” said Lance Trover, a spokesman for Steel’s campaign, about the reasons for Do’s removal.

Kim’s campaign team 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 are looking to flip in November. California’s 40th and 45th congressional districts are both part of 33 Republican-held districts across the country that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has designated as “critical battlegrounds.”

Steel served alongside Do on the board for several years until she was elected to Congress in 2020 to represent California’s then-48th congressional district, where Do also supported her at the time.

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

Kim, who was also elected to Congress for the first time in 2020, also received Do’s support at that time.

Do funneled 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 district lawsuit accusing the organization of embezzling millions from COVID relief funds intended to feed the elderly during the pandemic, using the money instead to buy homes and make other lavish purchases. Supervisor Do was not named in the lawsuit.

Last week, Do’s home and law office were raided by federal agents, as were the homes of his daughter and VAS Chairman Peter Pham. He is also facing calls from his colleagues, OC Supervisors Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento, to resign from his elected post.

Scott Baugh, who is running for California’s 47th Congressional District, has never been endorsed by Do, said his campaign spokesman Nic Gerard. But Baugh, a former Republican Party member and county party chairman, has endorsed Do in the past.

In a 2015 campaign mailer promoting Do’s candidacy in a special election for a seat on the board, Baugh, then serving as chairman 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 stood by that statement, Baugh said he “strongly condemns the misuse of COVID relief funds or any other taxpayer dollars.”

“The allegations against Supervisor Do and others are serious and are clearly being investigated,” Baugh said. “If the allegations are found to be true, we expect the full consequences to be meted out in accordance with the rule of law.”

Writers Destiny Torres and Tony Saavedra contributed to this report.