U.S. Representative George Santos (R-NY) departs after a Republican conference meeting on Capitol in Washington, U.S. January 10, 2023.
- Local Republican officials in New York state said newly elected GOP Rep. George Santos needed to immediately resign.
- Santos has doubled down on his intent to stay in Congress.
- The embattled freshman congressman has admitted making up key elements of his personal life, and is now under scrutiny by federal and local lawmakers.
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Calling GOP Rep. George Santos a joke, a disgrace, abnormal and a pathological liar, local Republican officials in New York state on Wednesday said the newly elected congressman needed to immediately resign, accusing him of running a campaign of "deceit and lies."
But Santos has refused, doubling down on his intent to stay in Congress at the same time as his fellow Republicans on Long Island have urged him to step down.
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"George Santos' campaign last year was a campaign of deceit, lies and fabrication," Nassau County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Cairo said at a news conference.
"He deceived the voters of the 3rd Congressional District, he deceived members of the Nassau County Republican committee, elected officials, his colleagues, candidates, his opponents and even some of the media," Cairo said. "He's disgraced the House of Representatives and we do not consider him one of our congresspeople."
Cairo's searing remarks were the first in a parade of more than a dozen Republican officials from around Santos' district, each of whom called on the new lawmaker to give up his seat.
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"He's a national joke, he's an international joke, but this joke's got to go," said Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin.
Other speakers called him a "stain" on the party who has acted like a "pathological liar."
As his state allies abandoned him, Santos sounded defiant in Washington, D.C.
"I will not," he said when bombarded by reporters on Capitol Hill asking if he will resign.
In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, Santos swung back at the Nassau Republicans, saying he regrets that they "refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living."
"I will NOT resign!" he added.
The latest blow to Santos came as the embattled freshman congressman, who was sworn into office just days earlier, has admitted making up key elements of his personal life, and is now under scrutiny by federal and local lawmakers.
Santos has been caught embellishing and, at times, outright lying, about his past, including his claims that he worked on Wall Street.
Santos has apologized to anyone "disappointed by resume embellishments," but he vehemently denies committing any crimes.
As a member of Congress, Santos represents parts of Queens and Nassau County, a region of Long Island in New York. House Republican leadership has been quiet regarding Santos since he's been sworn into Congress.
"Obviously, he's addressed some of the concerns that we've had. In New York, they're having a lot of internal conversations too. But at the end of the day, you know, he was seated, nobody objected to him being seated," House Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told CNBC on Wednesday morning after being asked whether Santos will serve his full two-year term.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said bluntly on Wednesday that Santos should not be seated on any top committees, as lawmakers have warned Santos could pose a national security risk if placed on panels that handle sensitive information.
Santos has said that all he's guilty of is embellishing his resume. He insists he has committed no crimes.
The lies and embellishments he told during the election have also led to scrutiny from prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York who are examining Santos' finances, including potential irregularities involving financial disclosures and an over $700,000 loan Santos made to his campaign while he was running for Congress during the 2022 midterms, according to NBC News.
The Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog, filed an ethics complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Santos on Monday for allegedly violating campaign finance laws. Santos told reporters that he's done nothing unethical.
Santos' fundraising efforts during his successful 2022 run were also based, in part, on some of the false claims he's made about his past. He would suggest to donors that he was Jewish when he was not and falsely told people he worked at Wall Street banks that don't have any record of his employment. A Santos campaign staffer impersonated Kevin McCarthy's chief of staff in order to raise money for the campaign, CNBC and The Washington Times reported.
