WASHINGTON — George Santos, the 34-year-old New York Republican who confessed to lying about part of his background, has been sworn in to the House. early Saturday morning in the midst of various investigations into his campaign and calls for his resignation.
Santos officially took office when the new Congress met after Republicans finally chose Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker of the House. He always voted for McCarthy during the protracted voting process that began Tuesday.
In general, Santos does not appear to have received a warm welcome from his fellow Republicans. During numerous speaker votes, he was often seen sitting alone, though on at least one occasion he was photographed chatting with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican.
Santos was elected in November to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District that covers a portion of the north shore of Queens and Long Island, beating out Democrat Robert Zimmerman. He is the first openly LGBTQ Republican to be elected to Congress.
Santos has faced intense scrutiny after The New York Times published a bombshell research last month, indicating that much of his resume appeared to have been fabricated, including claims that he owned numerous properties, had previously been an employee of Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and had graduated from Baruch College.
The report also raised questions about how Santos was able to loan his 2022 campaign $700,000 after he claimed on a 2020 campaign finance form that he was making $55,000 a year.
In several media appearances in the past week, Santos acknowledged but downplayed the lies. he told the New York Post in a December 26 article: «My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry.»
He admitted, for example, that he did not graduate from Baruch College or any institution of higher learning.
«I’m embarrassed and sorry I embellished my resume,» he said, according to the newspaper. «I admit that… We do stupid things in life.»
As for his claim that he worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, Santos told the Post it was «a poor choice of words» and said he did business with them when he was vice president of a company called LinkBridge.
And despite presenting himself as Jewish during his congressional campaigns, Santos told the Post: «I never claimed to be Jewish.»
«I am Catholic. Since I learned that my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said that I was ‘Jewish,'» he added.
Those comments came after the news outlet The front disputed a claim on Santos’ campaign website that his grandparents «fled Jewish persecution in the Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and again fled persecution during World War II.» The outlet also noted that Santos had called himself a «proud jewish americanin a position paper that was shared with Jewish and pro-Israel leaders during his campaign.
Santos is now under investigation by the Nassau County district attorney and federal prosecutors in New York. Law enforcement sources told NBC News that federal authorities are looking into Santos’s finances, including possible irregularities related to financial disclosures and loans he made to his campaign.
The state attorney general’s office has also said it is «investigating a number of issues» regarding Santos.
McCarthy and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who led the House GOP campaign arm during the 2022 election cycle, have ignored reporters’ questions about Santos and whether he should sit.
Santos, meanwhile, has largely ignored questions from reporters about his background and plans on Capitol Hill last week, while also expressing support for McCarthy in the race for speaker.
Asked by NBC News on Friday if he received assurances from McCarthy about committee assignments in exchange for his support, Santos said, «I don’t need to have those conversations.»
Several House Democrats have criticized Santos, but none more than Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York, who has taken to trolling Santos on social media.
Torres has also proposed legislation called the Stop Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker Act, or SANTOS Law. It would require candidates to disclose their employment, educational and military history under oath.
Former Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, who recently retired from Congress, said Sunday that Santos should consider resigning. «This is concerning in many ways. He has certainly lied repeatedly,» Brady said on Fox News Sunday. «Certainly he’s going to have to consider resigning.»