Last year, controversial Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., flipped a Democrat-controlled House seat, in one of the GOP’s highlights of the November election.
But before long, Santos was facing multiple investigations by prosecutors over his personal and campaign finances and his shameless lies about his resume and family heritage.
Now, Santos is facing calls to resign not only from congressional Democrats but also from some crucial allies in the GOP (especially at the local level).
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Local Republican leaders in New York on Wednesday called for Santos’s immediate resignation.
“His lies were not mere fibs. He disgraced the House of Representatives,” Joseph Cairo Jr., chair of the Nassau County Republican Committee, said at a news conference. “He’s not welcome here at Republican headquarters.”
Cairo and other Republicans said Santos deceived voters and the Nassau County GOP and they were particularly incensed by his lies about having Jewish ancestry.
Bruce Blakeman, a Jewish Republican and the elected Nassau County Executive, said he and other members of the sizeable Jewish population in the area take their religion and heritage seriously. He said it was “ridiculous” for Santos to call himself a Jew, but said it was “beyond the pale” and “outrageous” for Santos to have said in an interview that his grandparents survived the Holocaust.
“He cannot serve anymore. He does not deserve that right,” Blakeman said. “He is a stain on the House of Representatives.”
Blakeman said his office would have no interaction with Santos or his staff until he resigns and that the county would redirect any of Santos’ constituents seeking help to the office of D’Esposito in the neighboring congressional district.
Cairo said Santos was backed by the Nassau GOP after another local Republican club recommended him as a candidate in 2020 and that Santos lied when he presented his resume. He said they would change their vetting process going forward.
With Santos now, Cairo said, “We do not consider him one of our congresspeople.”
Santos, swarmed by reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday, flatly rejected the call to resign, saying, “I will not.”
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The media have accused the national GOP of remaining silent on the Santos scandal. The New York Times referred to the GOP as “Mr. Santos’s party, whose leaders in Washington have mostly stayed mum.” The paper also spoke of “a sharp division between local Republicans and their state and national counterparts.”
However, some federal Republicans have also called for Santos to resign.
U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, another Republican newly elected to represent Long Island, spoke at the news conference via video from Washington and joined Cairo’s call for his colleague’s resignation. “George Santos does not have the ability to serve here in the House of Representatives and should resign,” D’Esposito said.
Since last month, Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., has been calling for the House Ethics Committee to investigate Santos.
Plus, the party leadership has also condemned Santos. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to keep Santos off some influential committees. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., promised on behalf of the party leadership to handle Santos’s scandals “internally.”
Santos supported McCarthy during the party leader’s 15 attempts to become House speaker, but the denunciation by local Republicans may amp up the pressure on Republicans in Congress to rebuke or sideline Santos.
The local party has no mechanism to remove Santos from office. The House can censure or reprimand him with a simple majority
The 435-member House needs as many as 290 votes in order to expel a member… but the House just took 15 tries to muster 216 votes for McCarthy’s speakership bid.
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Santos reiterated his refusal to resign in a post on Twitter later Wednesday.
“I was elected to serve the people of #NY03 not the party & politicians, I remain committed to doing that and regret to hear that local officials refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living. I will NOT resign!”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.