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On Tuesday, New York Rep. George Santos’ own constituents turned up the heat on the embattled congressman, delivering petitions to House leaders seeking his expulsion from Congress after he admitted to fabricating critical pieces of his life.
Jody Kass Finkel, coordinator of Concerned Citizens of NY-03, said that the organization’s sole purpose was to remove Mr. Santos from “squatting in our seat.”
Ms. Kass Finkel criticized the fact Mr Santos faces an investigation from the House Ethics Committee, according to Yahoo! News.
“It’s just a delay,” she said. “No findings are needed to expel him today or tomorrow.”
Mr. Santos has faced sustained criticism about the fact that he has lied about multiple parts of his résumé, from working at investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, to supposedly being Jewish, as he won a seat in the reliably Democratic district on Long Island.
Despite many other proven lies, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has stood by the troubled congressman, though he has said if the House Ethics Committee finds he is guilty of wrongdoing, Santos would be removed. In no rush towards accountability, a spokesperson for McCarthy confirmed the ethics committee has yet to open its investigation.
Santos told CBS News that he was not deterred by the protests and insisted he was going to meet with the group.
“That’s their freedom of speech right and I’ll entertain a conversation with them every single day,” he said when asked whether the protests were a distraction from his work. “I represent them all equally.”
Though Santos suggests he has an open-door policy for his constituents, when they arrived outside his office late Tuesday afternoon, they were not allowed in.
While the GOP is committed to selecting and seating flawed candidates and habitual liars like Herschel Walker or George Santos, their citizenry want nothing to do with them.
According to CBS News, one month into his term, Santos’ troubles are mounting, including an FBI review of allegations he stole money raised for medical treatment for a veteran’s sick service dog, a complaint to the Federal Election Commission about suspicious campaign expenditures and a mysterious $700,000 loan to his campaign.
Last week, a man who briefly worked in his Capitol Hill office sent a letter to the House Ethics committee accusing Santos of sexual harassment. Santos denies the allegations.
Mitt Romney to George Santos: “You don’t belong here”
By Tuesday night, Santos would unabashedly attend the State of the Union address, angering Senator Mitt Romney who was caught on camera reportedly telling Santos, “You don’t belong here.”
“I didn’t expect that he’d be standing there trying to shake hands with every senator in the United States,” Romney said.
“Given the fact that he’s under an ethics investigation, he should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the president and people coming into the room.”
Still feeling spicy, Santos sent a tweet Tuesday evening aimed at Romney’s failed presidential ambitions.
Though calls for Santos’ removal appear ubiquitously unified by those on the outside, expelling a member of the House requires a two-thirds vote in the chamber.
Given McCarthy’s decision to support him and the fact Republicans control the House of Representatives, it remains unknown whether the controversial congressman will outlast a lifetime of lies.