House of Lies: Outrage as Republicans prepare to swear Santos fantasy | Republicans

A crescendo of bipartisan outrage will accompany the Tuesday swearing-in of George Santos, one of the Republican Party’s most controversial new congressmen who has admitted that large parts of his biography are a fantasy.

The New York politician, caught up in lies about his family background, education and work history, faces calls for the resignation of several senior figures in his own party before he even sets foot on the bedroom floor.

Kevin Brady of Texas, a former senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Fox News on Sunday that Santos “should definitely consider resigning,” while Asa Hutchinson, the incumbent governor of Arkansas, said on ABC’s This Week that its “unacceptable” lies should be investigated by the ethics committee.

Yet, in a reflection of its importance to speaker-candidate Kevin McCarthy’s personal ambitions, the current Republican leadership has remained virtually silent on the Santos affair. McCarthy needs every vote he can get from the party’s precarious majority to win the hammer, and seems willing to kiss an admitted liar to get there.

“Any other job in the world, you’d get fired. Unfortunately, we don’t have that option in Congress,” Illinois Democrat Mike Quigley told MSNBC, acknowledging that there were no formal procedures to deal with the episode, and that it was “probably in the leadership of the House”.

Hakeem Jeffries, the new House Democratic Minority Leader, said Santos was “unfit to serve” and told reporters he appeared to be “a complete and utter fraud”. [whose] the whole history of life is invented”.

The unraveling of Santos’ fantasy world has accelerated in recent days, following a New York Times investigation last month that initially questioned large chunks of the resume he presented to voters. to score a narrow victory for Republicans in a generally reliable Democratic district.

Santos admitted to lying about his Jewish ancestry, working for at least two Wall Street banks and graduating from a university that had no record of his attendance.

Parts of a biography on Santos’ website disappeared last week, including that his mother held a senior financial position in New York and was in the Twin Towers during the 2001 terrorist attacks. Times with those who knew her family say she was a cook who spoke little or no English.

Santos struggled to respond to numerous claims on Fox News last week in an interview described by the Daily Beast as a train wreck.

But he did not address other issues, including the source of a personal fortune he appears to have amassed rapidly despite financial troubles including evictions and thousands in unpaid rent.

The Times said campaign records showed Santos spent more than $40,000 on air travel alone, a staggering amount that topped other congressional candidates and even top congressmen.

On Monday, the newspaper published new allegations, including an interview with Santos’ former boyfriend, Pedro Vilarva, who said he had an affair in 2015. Santos, according to Vilarva, paid some of their bills, l surprised him with tickets to Hawaii that turned out not to exist, then stole and pawned his cell phone.

“He used to say he would get money from Citigroup, he was an investor,” Vilarva told The Times.

“One day it’s one thing, one day it’s something else. He never, ever really went to work.

The Times said reporters left voice, text and email messages for Santos, but he did not respond.

A growing number of lawmakers have expressed concern as Santos prepares to take his seat in Congress, including Kentucky Republican James Comer, the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

Comer told Fox News he was “pretty confident” the ethics committee would open an investigation. “What Santos did is a disgrace. He lied to voters,” he said.

Democrats are also expected to pursue multiple avenues against the 34-year-old, including a potential complaint to the Federal Election Commission and what would be a largely symbolic resolution to expel him from Congress.

Federal prosecutors in New York are reviewing Santos’ background and financial dealings, a person familiar with the matter said last week, and the state’s Nassau County prosecutor’s office said Wednesday it was investigating fabrications. of Santos during his campaign.