Santos says he won’t resign amid pressure from local NY Republicans

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) on Wednesday said he would not resign from Congress despite pressure from New York Republicans urging him to do so over “lies and fabrication” he told about his background on the campaign trail.

“I will not,” Santos said to reporters in response to a direct question as he got on a Capitol elevator.

In a later statement, Santos said: “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.I will NOT resign!”

Santos’s determination to stay in office comes after Nassau County Republicans called on him to resign.

“George Santos’s campaign last year was a campaign of deceit, lies and fabrication,” Nassau County Republican Chairman Joseph Cairo said in a press conference Wednesday. “Today I am calling for his immediate resignation.”

Santos has been under a firestorm as details of his lies on the campaign trail have come to light. The fabrications include falsehoods about his religion, his professional background and where he went to school.

The saga has landed Santos in the middle of both local and federal investigations for possible ethics and campaign finance violations. 

Two Democratic House members from New York filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee and hand-delivered a copy of the complaint to Santos’s office this week, also calling on the maligned lawmaker to step down. 

“He has a lot of work to do to regain the trust of voters and everyone who he represents in Congress,” Cairo said.

Santos has admitted to “embellishing” his résumé but has remained steadfast that he did not commit any crimes.

This story was not updated at 1:05 p.m.