New York Republican Rep. George Santos received harsh criticism last month after a New York Times exposé revealed that he had fabricated much of his life story.
Yet despite negative publicity and calls for his resignation, Santos recently insisted that he isn’t going anywhere.
Santos resists demands that he step down
According to Fox News, the congressman conveyed that message to ABC Capitol Hill correspondent Lalee Ibssa on Wednesday.
🚨Rep. George Santos tells @rachelvscott and me he will NOT resign pic.twitter.com/vBMvotq3Y0
— Lalee Ibssa (@LaleeIbssa) January 11, 2023
Santos reiterated that stance by putting out a tweet an hour later in which the lawmaker stressed that he “was elected to serve the people.”
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!
— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) January 11, 2023
That message hasn’t gone over well with some of Santos’ fellow Republicans, including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
“I have a member of the House of Representatives that represents roughly half of the county of Nassau that I can’t trust,” Blackman told Fox News.
“And it’s untenable to deal with somebody that, you know, you know is not going to tell you the truth. So, from a governmental standpoint, that’s a big problem,” he added.
“With respect to our residents, obviously, they’ve lost confidence in George Santos. And this is somebody that’s completely delusional. And quite frankly, needs help,” Blackman said of Santos.
He acknowledged that “Americans are very forgiving people, and a lot of people get a second chance” but predicted that Santos is “not going to get a second chance if he continues to sit in Congress and be a stain upon the House of Representatives.”
Santos is facing fraud charges in Brazil
“I think both parties have work to do going forward on their vetting process. Obviously, our chairman indicated that he was changing his process. And, you know, you have to wonder where the opposition research was,” Blakeman told Fox News Digital. “So the bottom line is, I think that both parties have learned a valuable lesson.”
In addition to lying about his career and being of Jewish descent, the Times reported that Santos is also accused by authorities in Brazil of using a stolen checkbook to fraudulently spend $700.
NEW: Brazilian Prosecutors are reviving the case against George Santos, now that they know where he is. Read here: https://t.co/bOEUWmpith
— Grace Ashford (@gr_ashford) January 2, 2023