Republican Rep.-elect George Santos is facing criticism from both sides of the aisle after he admitted Monday to falsifying portions of his resume.

What You Need To Know

  • Congressman-elect George Santos is receiving backlash after admitting Monday to falsifying portions of his resume

  • A New York Times report from earlier this month revealed that multiple large companies where Santos claimed to have worked had no record of his employment; that there was no trace of him at Baruch College, where he said he earned a diploma; and that his disclosures about the Devolder Organization, a firm that Santos incorporated and claimed which managed $80 million, revealed no known clients or assets

  • Fellow New York GOP Rep.-elect Nick LaLota said in a statement that Santos should face a “full investigation by the House Ethics Committee and, if necessary, law enforcement"

  • A prominent Republican Jewish club has also labeled Santos persona non grata at all its future events after he said Monday that he was “clearly Catholic” — despite calling himself a “proud American Jew” who had visited Israel “numerous times” in campaign documents shared with Jewish and pro-Israel groups

Rep.-elect Nick LaLota, a Republican who won the congressional seat for the Long Island district that neighbors Santos’ Third Congressional District, said in a statement Tuesday that Santos should face a “full investigation by the House Ethics Committee and, if necessary, law enforcement.”

“Over the last few weeks I have heard from countless Long Islanders how deeply troubled they are by the headlines surrounding George Santos,” LaLota said. “New Yorkers deserve the truth and House Republicans deserve an opportunity to govern without this distraction.”

A prominent Republican Jewish club has also labeled Santos persona non grata at all its future events after he said Monday that he was “clearly Catholic” — despite calling himself a “proud American Jew” who had visited Israel “numerous times” in campaign documents shared with Jewish and pro-Israel groups, according to the Forward.

Santos has faced mounting criticism, primarily from Democrats, since a New York Times report from earlier this month revealed that multiple large companies where he claimed to have worked had no record of his employment; that there was no trace of him at Baruch College, where he said he earned a diploma; and that his disclosures about the Devolder Organization, a firm that Santos incorporated and claimed which managed $80 million, revealed no known clients or assets.  

The scrutiny into Santos’ background comes just days before he is set to be sworn in as the representative for New York’s 3rd congressional district, which covers parts of eastern Queens and the northern half of the middle of Long Island. Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman in November. 

Representatives for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

In interviews with several media outlets Monday, Santos admitted to falsifying his work and educational history, and that he did not own dozens of properties, as he had claimed during the campaign. 

“I didn't graduate from any institution of higher learning,” Santos told the New York Post. “I'm embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume."

Yet Santos suggested that, because a firm where he worked had done business with the companies where he claimed to be employed, he had not actually “lied.”

"I didn't outright lie about my work experience,” he told City and State.

Santos also pushed back on criticism that he misrepresented his religious identity. During the campaign, he referred to himself both as a Catholic and a “nonobservant Jew,” according to the Times. 

“It just strikes me so odd that people are rushing to disinherit me from being Jewish or for even allowing to care for Israel and Judaism in a time and an era where antisemitism is at an all-time rise,” Santos told City and State. 

In a statement, the Republican Jewish Coalition said Santos was not welcome at its future events, but did not call for an investigation or his expulsion from Congress.

“He deceived us and misrepresented his heritage,” Matt Brooks, the RJC’s chief executive, said in the statement. “He has begun his tenure in Congress on a very wrong note.”

Santos also received moderate criticism from another fellow Long Island Republican, Rep.-elect, Anthony D'Esposito, who won election in a district south of the Third Congressional District.

"My neighbors across Long Island are deeply hurt and rightly offended by the lies and misstatements made by Congressman-Elect George Santos," D'Esposito said in a statement. "While Santos has taken a required first step by 'coming clean' with respect to his education, work experience, and other issues, he must continue to pursue a path of honesty."

D'Esposito has not called for any formal investigations into Santos.

Democrats, however, have called for Santos to face immediate investigations in the House, before its leadership changes hands to Republicans. Rep.-elect Dan Goldman, a Democrat who will represent parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, called Tuesday for Santos to face investigations by law enforcement. 

In a statement, Goldman said federal agencies should determine whether the Devolder Organization “was created simply as a pass-through entity through which Santos funneled illegal campaign contributions.”

“If House Republican leadership seats George Santos in Congress, and quashes any investigation in the House Ethics Committee, they will confirm that the Republican Party simply does not believe in fair elections,” Goldman said.