House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) admitted that he “always had some questions” about the resume of Rep. George Santos (RN.Y.), the newly elected Congressman who was found to have lied extensively about his beliefs.
“I never knew everything about the resume or not, but I definitely had some questions about it,” McCarthy said, after the reporter asked that he had an inkling of the allegations against Santos before they became public.
The reporter also questioned how Santos’ staff was caught as McCarthy’s chief of staff making fundraising calls during Santos’ 2020 and 2022 House campaigns.
“You know, I didn’t know about it. It happened – I know he corrected it, but I wasn’t informed about it until later,” he said, stating that he had spoken to Santos about it.
After winning the election in November, and following bombshell media reports, Santos admitted that he had lied about elements of his work experience, heritage and education. Recent reports in The New York Times and New York Post indicate that GOP leaders and some top Republican aides knew about the plot before the election.
McCarthy, who endorsed Santos and supported his campaign, has downplayed Santos’ efforts and rejected calls to try to oust him from the House, as the speaker aimed for his leadership with a narrow majority.
Santos chose McCarthy on all 15 speaker votes. If he is forced out, McCarthy has no guarantee the seat will be filled with allies (or even Republicans).
New York Democratic Reps. Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres on Sunday demanded that GOP leaders disclose what they know about Santos’ dishonesty and cooperate with current and future investigations into Santos.
“It is one thing for a candidate such as Mr. Santos to induce voters to support people based on a web of lies,” wrote the legislator in a letter, addressed to McCarthy; Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference; and Dan Conston, who heads the Congressional Leadership Fund PAC. “But it’s unlikely that top Republican leaders knew about Mr. Santos’ lies during the campaign and chose to be complicit.”