First sitting House Republican calls on Santos to step down 

The first sitting House Republican has called for Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) to step down from his lower chamber seat after he fabricated much of his professional and educational background on the campaign trail to get elected. 

“George Santos does not have the ability to serve here in the House of Representatives and should resign,” Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, one of Santos’ fellow GOP congressmen from New York, said at a press conference with the Nassau County Republican Committee. 

Just weeks after being elected to the Long Island House seat, Santos admitted to making several false claims on his resume, including misrepresenting his work with top Wall Street firms and falsely saying he’d gotten a degree from a New York college when he’d not graduated from “any institution of higher learning.” 

Democrats quickly called for Santos to resign from his elected position, or for the House GOP to take action against him. Some Republicans have called for an investigation into the matter, but D’Esposito is the first sitting lawmaker in the new Congress to call for Santos to resign. 

“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 to serve. For his betrayal of the public’s trust, I call on [him] to resign,” D’Esposito said in a Wednesday statement shared with Politico. 

“When public servants deceive and mislead those they are tasked with serving, they are no longer fit to work for the people,” D’Esposito said. 

Santos, though, insisted Wednesday that he won’t resign amid the pressure from Republicans in Nassau County and elsewhere, just days after being sworn in to the 118th Congress.