Editor’s note: Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) is calling on Santos to resign. His quotation in an earlier version of this story was mis-transcribed.
Seven House Republicans are calling on Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) to resign from Congress amid revelations that the first-term lawmaker misrepresented parts of his résumé and biography.
The group — five of whom are first-term lawmakers hailing from New York — pointed to the mistruths Santos pushed on the campaign trail, arguing that he should step aside and allow someone else to represent the Empire State’s 3rd Congressional District.
The group released statements after local GOP officials from Nassau County urged the congressman to immediately resign in a press conference on Wednesday. The New York Republican came under fire following reports that he misled voters about his education, employment and religion. He has since admitted to “embellishing” his résumé.
Santos, however, is remaining defiant despite the pressure to leave his seat, vowing not to step down. And Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday said the first-term lawmaker “will continue to serve.”
Here are the House Republicans who have called on Santos to resign.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.)
D’Esposito was the first House Republican to call on Santos to resign, writing in a statement that his lies had “irreparably broken” the trust between the congressman and his constituents.
“When public servants deceive and mislead those they are tasked with serving, they are no longer fit to work for the people,” D’Esposito wrote. “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 in to serve.”
“For his betrayal of the public’s trust, I call on Congressman George Santos to resign,” he added.
D’Esposito, who represents the district next to Santos’s, appeared virtually at the Nassau County GOP press conference Wednesday, where he denounced his colleague. “I join with you, and I join with my colleagues, in saying that George Santos does not have the ability to serve here in the House of Representatives and should resign,” he said at the press conference.
Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.)
Langworthy, the chairman of the New York State Republican Committee, issued a statement on Wednesday backing the call from Nassau County Republicans for Santos to resign.
The congressman said Santos has proved he is unable to be “an effective representative.”
“I support the Nassau Republicans’ decision today to request the resignation of George Santos,” Langworthy said. “It’s clear that he cannot be an effective representative and it would be in the best interest of the taxpayers to have new leadership.”
“I will continue working with our local elected officials to ensure that trust and dignity are restored to the 3rd congressional district,” he added.
Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.)
LaLota said Santos should resign in a statement on Wednesday, pointing to “his outrageously substandard conduct.” The first-term lawmaker also cited accusations that Santos, while voting on the House floor last week, flashed a white-power symbol.
“With Santos neither taking ownership of his lies nor demonstrating respect for the office he fraudulently obtained — as evidenced by Santos flashing a ‘White Power’ sign on the House floor last week — I am now calling on Santos to resign,” LaLota said.
“Santos’ resignation will help pave New Yorkers a path to having a Representative in Congress with integrity and respect and will give House Republicans an opportunity to govern without this shame and distraction,” he added.
LaLota’s call for resignation came after the New York Republican last month said the House Ethics Committee should conduct a “full investigation” into Santos.
On Wednesday, he said such a probe “is necessary” to understand “the depth” of the Santos controversy.
“Three weeks ago, I condemned George Santos’ campaign of lies and deceit by calling for a House Ethics investigation into his outrageously substandard conduct. Such an investigation is necessary for New Yorkers to fully comprehend the depth of Santos’ scam and to hold him accountable,” LaLota said.
Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.)
Williams on Wednesday said Santos should resign because voters elected him to serve in Washington “in part due to his biographical exaggerations and apparent deceptions.” “As more revelations become public, I concur with the Nassau Republicans’ decision to request George Santos’s resignation,” Williams wrote in a statement. “Their constituents in NY-3 elected Representative Santos in party due to his biographical exaggerations and apparent deceptions.”
“He must resign,” he added.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.)
Lawler called on Santos to resign on Thursday, writing in a statement “it is clear that” his colleague from New York “has lost the confidence and support of his party, his constituents, and his colleagues.”
“With the extent and severity of the allegations against him, his inability to take full responsibility for his conduct, and the numerous investigations underway, I believe he is unable to fulfill his duties and should resign.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.)
Mace, a second-term congresswoman from South Carolina, joined the New York freshmen on Monday in backing the call for Santos to resign.
“I do, actually,” she told CNN’s Anderson Cooper when asked if she thought Santos should step down.
“This is an individual that fabricated their entire life story, their entire resume, to get elected. If you want to talk about election fraud then we could look no further than New York’s third Congressional District right now,” she added.
Mace noted, however, that “everyone is allowed due process.” She also expressed support for an ethics investigation and floated the possibility of needing a criminal investigation, pointing to “some suspicious activity” in his campaign finance files.
“I believe the process will work itself out, likely through an investigation — criminal or ethics or otherwise — but it’ll take a couple of months, it won’t happen overnight, and as I’ve said before that every individual deserves the right to due process, as does he, but this is an issue,” she said.
“His own Republican Party called for his resignation today, there are Republican members from his delegation in New York that are calling for his resignation on both sides of the aisle. It is a problem. We want to sow trust in the work we do in Congress, and this is, you know, one of the places where we gotta start,” she added.
Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio)
Miller, a former aide to ex-President Trump, called on Santos to resign Thursday night, writing in a statement that he does not think the congressman can serve effectively.
The Ohio Republican specifically highlighted Santos’s false claim that his grandparents survived the Holocaust.
“I believe voters have the right to hold government officials to the very highest standard of honesty and trustworthiness. The people’s representatives must respect the need for transparency and candor with Americans,” Miller said. “It is not okay to fabricate or lie for political gain. This is especially true when the lie seeks to benefit from the murder of millions of Jewish people.”
“I do not believe George Santos can effectively serve and should resign,” he added.
Updated Friday, Jan. 13 at 2:46 p.m.