A growing number of Republican lawmakers are calling on freshman Rep. George Santos (R-NY) to resign as more apparent falsehoods about his resume and alleged campaign finance violations come to light.
Santos won a competitive Democratic-held district in November before a New York Times investigation found he fabricated aspects of his education, employment, and family history. Santos is accused of bank fraud in Brazil and has made disputed claims, including that his grandparents fled the Holocaust.
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Republican leaders, including Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), have said they are handling the situation internally and will hold Santos accountable if an Ethics Committee investigation finds wrongdoing.
“Well, what I find is the voters have elected George Santos. If there’s a concern, he will go through [the Ethics Committee]. If there is something that is found, he will be dealt with in that manner. But they have a voice in this process,” McCarthy told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.
Santos says he won’t resign, but every other freshman Republican from New York is unified in calling for him to step down. Most were spurred by the Nassau County Republican Committee calling for Santos’s “immediate resignation” at a Wednesday press conference.
Here are all the House Republicans who have said Santos should resign.
Max Miller (R-OH)
“I believe voters have the right to hold government officials to the very highest standard of honesty and trustworthiness,” Miller said in a statement Thursday night. “The people’s representatives must respect the need for transparency and candor with Americans. It is not okay to fabricate or lie for political gain. This is especially true when the lie seeks benefit from the murder of millions of Jewish people. I do not believe George Santos can effectively serve and should resign.”
Nancy Mace (R-SC)
Mace told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an interview Wednesday night that she believes Santos should resign. She was the first Republican outside of the New York delegation to say he should step down.
Marc Molinaro (R-NY)
“George Santos’s dishonesty has eroded his ability to represent his neighbors and serve in Congress,” Molinaro said in a statement Thursday. “I don’t see how he can continue.”
Nick LaLota (R-NY)
“What he’s done is disgraceful, dishonorable, and unworthy of the office. I think he should resign,” LaLota said Wednesday.
Mike Lawler (R-NY)
“It is clear that George Santos has lost the confidence and support of his party, his constituents, and his colleagues,” Lawler said in a Thursday statement. “With the extent and severity of the allegations against him, his inability to take full responsibility for his conduct, and the numerous investigations underway, I believe he is unable to fulfill his duties and should resign.”
Nick Langworthy (R-NY)
Langworthy chairs the New York Republican Party and agreed on Wednesday with calls from the Nassau County Republican Committee for Santos to resign.
“I support the Nassau Republicans’ decision today to request the resignation of George Santos,” he said in a statement issued through the New York GOP. “It’s clear that he cannot be an effective representative and it would be in the best interest of the taxpayers to have new leadership. I will continue working with our local elected officials to ensure that trust and dignity are restored to the 3rd congressional district.”
Brandon Williams (R-NY)
“As more revelations become public, I concur with the Nassau Republicans’ decision to request George Santos’s resignation. The constituents in NY-3 elected Representative Santos in part due to his biographical exaggerations and apparent deceptions. He must resign,” Williams said on Wednesday.
Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY)
D’Esposito was the first sitting congressional Republican to call for Santos to resign.
“Throughout my time as both an NYPD Detective and elected official, I have maintained that trust is the hallmark of good public service. When public servants deceive and mislead those they are tasked with serving, they are no longer fit to work for the people,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
“It has become clear that congressman George Santos’s many hurtful lies and mistruths surrounding his history have irreparably broken the trust of the residents he is sworn to serve,” he continued. “For his betrayal of the public’s trust, I call on congressman George Santos to resign.”
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There is no way for constituents to recall a member of Congress, though they can be expelled in the House by a two-thirds vote. This action has only been taken five times in history, only against members convicted of crimes and only twice for crimes other than the treason of joining the Confederacy during the Civil War.
