Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller urges George Santos to resign

WASHINGTON — Rep. Max Miller, an Ohio Republican and former top White House aide to former President Donald Trump, has joined the growing number of House Republicans calling for Rep. George Santos to resign.

Miller, a freshman representative and one of two Jewish Republicans serving in the House, took issue with Santos’ claims of being “Jew-ish” and the descendant of Holocaust survivors.

Santos (R-Nassau/Queens), who once identified himself on the campaign trail as an “American Jew,” has since backtracked and said he was raised Catholic but identifies as “Jew-ish.” Subsequent reporting by CNN and Jewish Insider, citing genealogical records, has also cast doubt on Santos’ claims that his grandparents fled to Brazil from Belgium to escape the Holocaust.

“It is not okay to fabricate or lie for political gain,” Miller said in a statement issued Thursday night. “This is especially true when the lie seeks benefit from the murder of millions of Jewish people. I do not believe George Santos can effectively serve and should resign.”

Miller previously served as a special assistant to Trump, and was often seen at Trump’s side during out-of-town trips.

Miller is one of the first House Republicans outside of New York to call for Santos’ resignation after the beleaguered politician admitted to fabricating major parts of his resume, including lying about his education and work experience.

A New York Times investigation published last month first revealed some of the inconsistencies with Santos’ resume and also raised questions about the source of Santos’ income via a private firm, the Devolder Organization, that has little public footprint.

New York Republican Reps. Anthony D’Esposito of Island Park, Nick LaLota of Amityville and upstate lawmakers Nick Langworthy, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams all called for Santos’ resignation this week.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), in a pair of interviews with CNN and MSNBC, also called for Santos to resign on Wednesday. She is the only non-freshman House Republican to call for his resignation.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who garnered Santos’ vote in his protracted battle to win the House speakership, told reporters he would not join the calls for Santos to step down.

“The voters of his district have elected him. He is seated. He is part of the Republican conference,” McCarthy said Thursday. “There are concerns with him, so he will go before Ethics. If anything is found to be wrong, he will be held accountable exactly as anybody else in this body would be.”

Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), the only other Jewish House Republican, has yet to weigh in publicly, and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

Miller and Santos were financially supportive of each other's congressional bids. Federal campaign finance records show Miller contributed $8,900 to Santos’ 2022 campaign. Santos’ own political action committee — GADS PAC — donated $5,000 to Miller’s PAC, Dependable Conservative Leadership, according to records.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, a political group that supports the election of Jewish candidates, has since denounced Santos and said he will be barred from all of its future events. Santos was previously a featured guest at the group’s Dec. 18 Hanukkah celebration in Sands Point, where he was joined by former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), who is also Jewish, according to the group’s website.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.