Republican Rep. George Santos (R-NY) says he “will NOT resign” after receiving calls from his own party to step down.
Following a New York Times report last year about discrepancies in Santos’s personal and professional life he spoke about on the campaign trail, in addition to the now-congressman admitting he embellished parts of his resume, local Republicans, including a sitting congressman, have asked him to step down.
In a Wednesday press conference, Nassau County GOP chairman Joseph Cairo said, “George Santos’s campaign last year was a campaign of deceit, lies, and fabrication.” Cairo added, “Today, on behalf of the Nassau County Republican Committee, I am calling for his immediate resignation.”
Additionally, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R) also said the congressman “is a stain on the House of Representatives.” and “a stain on the 3rd Congressional District.” Blakeman also said that he asked his staff to refer any constituent calls needing congressional help to Santos’s neighboring district, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY).
D’Esposito, who represents New York’s Fourth Congressional District and virtually participated in the press conference with other local Republicans calling on Santos to step down, also released a statement calling on the congressman to resign:
Throughout my time as both an NYPD Detective and elected official, I have maintained that trust is the hallmark of good public service. When public servants deceive and mislead those they are tasked with serving, they are no longer fit to work for the people. It has become clear that Congressman George Santos’ many hurtful lies and mistruths surrounding his history have irreparably broken the trust of the residents he is sworn to serve. For his betrayal of the public’s trust, I call on Congressman George Santos to resign.
The Hill also noted:
The top prosecutor in Nassau County, a Republican, opened a probe late last month into Santos while Robert Zimmerman, the Democratic candidate who lost to Santos last November, urged for the congressman to resign and face him in a special election.
Despite all of this, the Long Island Republican said he would not be stepping down from office. In a statement on Twitter, he wrote, “I will NOT resign!”
“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,” he continued.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) did not call on Santos to resign, telling reporters, “I try to stick by the Constitution. The voters elected him to serve.” When asked about Santos admitting to embellishing his resume, he added, “So did a lot of people here in the Senate and others.”
“It’s the voters who made that decision. He has to answer to the voters and the voters to make another decision in two years,” McCarthy added. “He is going to have to build the trust here and he’s going to have the opportunity to try to do that.”
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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