Santos arrives in Washington amid storm of controversy

Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) arrived Tuesday in Washington amid a growing controversy over revelations that he embellished large parts of his résumé, sparking a media frenzy and creating a headache for GOP leaders just as they’ve taken control of the lower chamber.

Santos had won his election handily in November’s midterms, snatching a Democratic seat vacated by outgoing Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.) — a key pickup in the Republicans’ successful effort to flip House control after four years in the minority wilderness. GOP leaders had hailed Santos, 34, the first openly gay Republican to win a congressional seat as a non-incumbent, as a rising star in an increasingly diverse House GOP conference.

Yet a series of media reports have since revealed that Santos lied on the campaign trail about major parts of his biography, including those related to his education, work history and family genealogy — fictions that Santos has since acknowledged.

The revelations have prompted howls from Democrats — and even some Republicans — who have accused Santos of defrauding voters and raised questions about Santos’s fitness to serve in Congress. Several investigations — both local and federal — have also been launched into his campaign finances.

Throughout the saga, Santos has remained defiant, issuing tepid apologies to friendly conservative media outlets and downplaying the fabrications as a mere résumé “embellishment.” Whatever dishonesty he’s exhibited, Santos says, pales in comparison to that of the Democrats.

“Joe Biden’s been lying to the American people for 40 years,” he told Fox News last week. 

The storm that began in New York followed Santos to the Capitol on Tuesday, where reporters stalked him throughout the cavernous complex, peppering him with questions about both his résumé and political future. The New York Republican remained largely mum.

In one scrum captured on camera by a CBS reporter, Santos tried to speed ahead of the press corps but, unfamiliar with his new surroundings, ended up walking into a dead end in the basement of a House office building. The misstep forced him to turn around and face the media gauntlet once more.

All the attention swirling around Santos has caused even some Republicans to distance themselves from the controversial newcomer. When the House convened at noon Tuesday, the first day of the 118th Congress, the cameras repeatedly panned to Santos sitting alone in the chamber while other members mingled on the floor.

Santos did, however, make good on his vow to support Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) bid for Speaker during the afternoon vote, securing another vote for the GOP leader as he faces mounting opposition in his quest for the gavel. The only question Santos answered from reporters on Tuesday was whether he would support McCarthy.

But Republican leadership — including McCarthy — has remained silent on the Santos saga, refusing to address the issue as the conference grapples with McCarthy’s struggling Speaker campaign. With Republicans’ slim majority in the House — 222 to 212 — McCarthy can afford to lose only four GOP votes should all members vote for a candidate, creating little political motivation for top lawmakers to criticize Santos.

Some incoming members, however, are coming down on their soon-to-be colleague.

Rep.-elect Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said Santos’ conduct has been an unwelcome development — one that is a distraction to the GOP. 

“His conduct is embarrassing and unbecoming, and it is certainly a distraction,” Lawler told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in an interview on “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday.

The controversy surrounding Santos swelled on Monday when prosecutors in Brazil revealed their intent to reopen a criminal fraud case into Santos for a 2008 case involving a stolen checkbook. The inquiry had been closed for some time because police were not able to determine Santos’s location, according to The New York Times.

A spokeswoman for the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office told the newspaper that it will make a formal request with the Department of Justice to inform Santos of the charges now that his location is known.

The international inquiry is the latest probe to zero in on Santos. Prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York and the Nassau County district attorney are also looking into the New Yorker in the wake of the revelations.

Another probe may be on the horizon.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who’s in line to chair the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee, is already predicting that Congress will investigate Santos, even with Republicans newly in charge of the House. 

“I’m pretty confident that the Ethics Committee will launch an investigation into Santos,” Comer said last week in an interview with Fox News.