The calls for Rep. George Santos to quit are coming from inside the house

It's been nearly one month since The New York Times published an explosive exposé highlighting then-Congressman-elect George Santos' (R-N.Y.) extensive lies concerning everything from where he went to school to where he worked before running for office. And in that time, Santos has admitted to "embellishing my résumé" while nevertheless insisting that he is "not a criminal," despite several newly launched investigations that suggest otherwise — all while more and more instances of his alleged penchant for embellishment were uncovered by the national press.
Nevertheless, Santos now sits as a full-fledged member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and, with the backing of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), will be assigned to at least one congressional committee.
While Democrats have, unsurprisingly, been demanding Santos' resignation for weeks now, those demands were on Wednesday echoed from across the political aisle, when Nassau County Republican officials, and later the New York State GOP as a whole, called for the freshman congressman to step down.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"George Santos' campaign last year was a campaign of deceit, lies, and fabrication," Nassau County GOP Chairman Joe Cairo told reporters, adding that among Santos' many falsehoods was a previously unheard claim that he'd helped Baruch College's volleyball team win a league championship — an impressive feat considering he never attended that particular institution. Later Wednesday, New York GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy agreed with Cairo, saying in a brief press release that "it's clear [Santos] cannot be an effective representative and it would be in the best interest of the taxpayers to have new leadership."
Despite both the county and state he ostensibly represents having demanded his resignation, Santos himself has remained obstinately committed to staying in Congress.
Santos' stubbornness is bolstered in part by McCarthy, who has conspicuously refused to call for the congressman's resignation and said Wednesday that "the voters elected him to serve. If there is a concern, and he has to go through the Ethics, let him move through that."
McCarthy's refusal to demand Santos step down may well be informed as much by electoral math as by any sense of loyalty; New York's newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District had been a solidly Democratic stronghold for nearly a decade before Santos' narrow victory there in November. Should Santos resign, McCarthy's already razor-thin House majority would become that much thinner, and his already Sisyphean task of leading a party that spent its first week of the new legislative session demonstrating a historical unwillingness to heed his authority would be made all the more difficult, putting both his speakership and the GOP majority as a whole at risk.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
The Pam Bondi and Dan Bongino schism threatens Trump's DOJ
In the Spotlight Two MAGA partisans find themselves on either end of a growing scandal over Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to White House officials
-
8 ways Trump's bill will change your taxes
The Explainer The 'big beautiful bill' was recently signed into law. Here's what it might mean for your wallet.
-
One great cookbook: 'The Cook You Want to Be'
The Week Recommends And the way you want to eat — now
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress