Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY) admitted lying during the midterm elections about his schooling and job history, but he said he would still take office in the following Congress.
Santos defeated Democratic challenger Robert Zimmerman in the November election to represent New York’s 3rd congressional district. After a New York Times investigation revealed that he had misrepresented information regarding his schooling and career history, various aspects of his résumé came under question shortly after his election.
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“My transgressions here are enhancing my resume. Santos apologized, he told the New York Post. “I don’t commit crimes. I won’t let the controversy stop me from being a successful legislator. I’ll be successful. I’ll do well.
The initial investigation discovered that Santos fabricated information on his purported career history with multiple Wall Street companies after he claimed to have worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs in his campaign biography. However, both businesses told numerous media outlets that Santos had never worked for them.
Santos, who admitted he “never worked directly” for the two financial organizations, instead claimed to work for a company named Link Bridge that transacted business with them, telling the New York Post that his use of the phrase “worked directly” for them was a “bad choice of words.”
I’ll be more explicit about that, he said. “It was inadequately stated,”
After first claiming to have degrees in finance and economics from New York University and Baruch College, Santos came under fire for lying about his educational background. The congressman-elect eventually acknowledged he never had a college degree, though.
“I didn’t acquire a degree from any college or university. I’m ashamed and remorseful for embellishing my resume, he said to the publication. “I acknowledge that. We make foolish decisions in life.
On his campaign website, the New York candidate claimed that his mother was Jewish and that his ancestors had survived the Nazis during World War II. This drew criticism from others who claimed that he had Jewish lineage. Subsequently, Santos corrected his remarks, admitting that although though he is a Catholic, his grandmother used to recount tales of her time as a Jew who later converted to Catholicism.
Santos stated, “I never claimed to be Jewish. I’m a Catholic. I declared myself to be “Jew-ish” after learning that my mother’s family was Jewish.
Santos had made headlines for being the first openly gay non-incumbent Republican to win a seat in the House, but that was also called into question after it was revealed by the Daily Beast that the New York congressman-elect had previously been married to a woman. Santos acknowledged having married in 2012 and divorcing in 2017, but he insisted he is “very much gay.”
“In the past, I dated women. I wed a female. Santos remarked, “It’s personal stuff. “My sexuality is fine with me. People evolve. I’m one of those individuals who adapts.
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Santos was sure he would still assume office in January and that it wouldn’t stop him from his legislative duties in the face of overwhelming criticism over his exaggerated resume.
Santos declared, “I campaigned talking about the people’s concerns, not my resume. “I plan to follow through on the campaign pledges I made, including fighting to reduce crime and improve education.”
Santos’ acceptance into Congress was questioned by several Democrats in response to the disclosures, but numerous House Republicans were apparently aware of the modifications made by the New York candidate before to the election, according to the New York Post.
One top GOP leadership aide told the site, “As far as questions about George in general, that was always something that was brought up whenever we talked about this campaign. At one point, it became a running joke. Since this is his second election campaign, we had hoped that the people would resolve these concerns.
