House Democrats are demanding the immediate resignation or expulsion from Congress of Rep.-elect George Santos, R-N.Y., who admitted to lying to voters about his work experience and education on the campaign trail.
Robert Zimmerman, the Democrat who Santos defeated in the November general election, said the Republican should resign and face him again in a special election.
‘George, if that’s even your real name, if you’re so convinced that #NY3 voters still trust you – resign & run against me again in a special election,’ Zimmerman tweeted Tuesday. ‘Face the voters with your real past & answer questions about your criminal history. Let the voters decide.’
Santos, a political newcomer, flipped New York’s 3rd Congressional District for Republicans in November after campaigning with an inspirational background story – falsely claiming he graduated from college with degrees in finance and worked for Goldman Sachs and Citibank.
After an investigation by the New York Times revealed major portions of his biography were fabricated, his purported employers confirmed to Fox News that Santos never worked for them, and Baruch College said he never attended there.
In an interview with the New York Post on Monday, Santos confessed that he ‘never worked directly’ for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, suggesting that he probably could have used a better choice of words.
Instead, Santos said, he worked for Link Bridge, which did business with both Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
In his role with Link Bridge, Santos claimed he helped make ‘capital introductions’ between investors and clients, the Post reported, and the two financial institutions were limited partnerships Link Bridge worked with.
Santos also told the Post he never graduated from college, despite his campaign resume that said he received a degree in 2010 from Baruch.
‘I am not a criminal,’ Santos insisted to the Post in an interview Monday. ‘I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed, and sorry for having embellished my resume.’
Democrats pounced after Santos admitted to lying, calling for him to resign from Congress or be forced to do so by Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said Santos should be ‘banned from taking the oath for Congress.’ His fellow California Democrat, Rep. Ted Lieu, said McCarthy should call for a vote to expel Santos in the next Congress, assuming that the Republican leader is elected speaker of the House in the new GOP majority.
‘George Santos should resign as Congressman-elect. If he refuses, Congress should expel him. He should also be investigated by authorities,’ echoed Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas. ‘Just about every aspect of his life appears to be a lie. We’ve seen people fudge their resume but this is total fabrication.’
New York Congressman Ritchie Torres went further, suggesting that Santos committed crimes by lying to voters.
‘George Santos admits his life story is a complete fabrication. His pitiful confession should not distract us from concerns about possible criminality and corruption,’ said Torres, D-N.Y. ‘The Ethics Committee MUST investigate how he made his money. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’
Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.