Embattled GOP Rep. George Santos (N.Y) said on Thursday he will step down if “142 people” ask for his resignation.
“If 142 people ask for me to resign I will resign,” Santos told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Santos has admitted to lying about much of his résumé, including that he graduated from New York University and Baruch College and that he had worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He also claimed he was Jewish.
Local Republicans in New York called for Santos’ resignation on Wednesday, while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he is leaving Santos’ fate to the voters of New York’s third district.
“I try to stick by the Constitution. The voters elected him to serve. If there is a concern, and he has to go through the Ethics, let him move through that,” McCarthy said.
“It’s the voters who made that decision. He has to answer to the voters and the voters to make another decision in two years,” he added. “He is going to have to build the trust here and he’s going to have the opportunity to try to do that.”
Santos did not say which 142 people he was referring to. However, it is also possible that he misspoke and was referring to the more than 142,000 votes he received in the 2022 midterms to flip the seat.
[Image by: Jonathan Ernst | Reuters]
