House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) admitted on Monday that he was always skeptical of Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) résumé.
The New York Times reported Friday that a small group of people within the Republican Party’s national campaign machine were aware of Santos’ lies and that he had been warned that the lies could easily be discovered.
Asked when he became aware that something was amiss in Santos’ background, McCarthy told CNN he never knew about Santos’ resume but he “always had a few questions about him.”
A New York Times investigation after the November midterm election found that Santos lied about his professional background while campaigning for office.
Santos has since admitted to “embellishing” his résumé and is facing growing calls from within the Republican party to resign as more lies are revealed.
Last week, CNBC reported that Santos paid a member of his team to impersonate McCarthy’s chief of staff to raise money for his campaign.
Asked about the story on Monday, McCarthy told reporters, “I was not notified about that until a later date.” McCarthy also said he spoke with Santos about the story but never revealed what he said.
Santos flipped a House seat for Republicans in November, helping the party win a very narrow majority in the lower chamber.
While local New York Republicans and some GOP lawmakers in Congress are demanding Santos’ resignation, McCarthy said Santos’ fate should be decided by the voters of his district.
