On Wednesday, Jan. 18, newly elected Rep. Marcus J. Molinaro (R-N.Y.), whose 19th congressional district includes all of Tompkins County, said in a statement to the Sun on Wednesday that his colleague and fellow freshman Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) should resign. He became one of seven House Republicans to call for the embattled representative’s resignation, although fellow New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the House’s No. 3 Republican, has remained silent.
“George Santos’s dishonesty has eroded his ability to represent his neighbors and serve in Congress. I don’t see how he can continue. He should resign,” said a spokesperson for Molinaro.
Santos, whose Third District includes parts of northeastern Queens and Long Island’s Nassau County, has come under recent fire for lying to voters and his Republican colleagues alike about his personal history.
An investigation by the New York Times revealed he lied about his mother’s death in the 9/11 attacks (records show she died in 2016) and being Jewish via relation to Ukrainian Jews on his mother’s side (his relatives were born in Brazil). Additionally, he claimed to attend the elite preparatory school, Horace Mann, but a spokesperson at Horace Mann confirmed he never actually attended the school. Similarly, his claim of graduating from Baruch College in 2010 was disputed by officials from the college who stated nobody with his birth date graduated that year. Wall Street firms Citigroup and Goldman Sachs came forth and stated that despite his assertions, they both had no records of his employment. Finally, the Internal Revenue Service revealed no records of Friends of Pets United, the charity he founded, existed.
Due to the scandal, the Nassau County Republican Committee called for Santos’ resignation. Federal, state and local prosecutors have announced investigations into the previous matters, as well as financial disclosures related to his campaign.