George Santos faces cold shoulder from Republicans, Democrats

WASHINGTON — On the eve of incoming Rep. George Santos' swearing-in on Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats are questioning whether he can serve effectively serve in the House, where building personal relationships is key to passing legislation.

Santos, a Republican who will represent the 3rd District in Nassau and Queens, has admitted lying about his education and work experience, and is the subject of county, state and federal probes into his campaign finances.

He is entering the 118th session of Congress facing a cold reception on both sides of the aisle.

House GOP leaders who are poised to take control of the chamber on Tuesday, have remained quiet about Santos’ future when pressed by reporters.

But a growing number of rank-and-file Republicans have started to publicly air their concerns after an investigation by The New York Times found Santos fabricated major portions of his resume and biography.

Subsequent reporting also has raised questions about Santos’ sudden burst of reported wealth via a private company bearing his family name, and his lavish campaign spending.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has said he is “pretty confident” the House Ethics Committee will open an investigation into Santos.

“What Santos has done is a disgrace, he’s lied to the voters,” Comer said in a recent interview with Fox News.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) last week told the Washington Examiner he was, “not supportive of [Santos] being in our conference at all from what I know.”

Sessions continued: "His placement within any committee structure, his placement within our party, and his reelection should be evaluated.”

Incoming Rep. Mike Lawler (R-Suffern), who flipped a Democratic district in Upstate New York, called on Santos to “cooperate fully” with “multiple federal, state and local investigations seemingly underway.”

Lawler said in a statement: “George Santos owes the people of his district the complete and total truth about his personal and professional background.” 

Incoming Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Hauppauge) was among the first Republicans to call last week for a House Ethics investigation into Santos.

“New Yorkers deserve the truth and House Republicans deserve an opportunity to govern without this distraction,” LaLota said.

However, Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who on Monday still was working to secure enough GOP votes to become the next Speaker of the House, has remained silent about Santos’ future, ignoring reporters' questions about the issue.

Santos previously expressed support for McCarthy’s Speaker's bid, for McCarthy needs the votes of 218 of 222 House Republicans.

Santos has also faced calls from House Democrats from New York to step aside.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx) last month filed legislation to make it a crime for congressional candidates to lie about their credentials.

Torres named his bill the Stop Another Non Truthful Office Seeker (SANTOS) Act.

Incoming Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-Brooklyn), a former federal prosecutor, has urged federal authorities to investigate Santos’ private firm — the Devolder Organization — to determine if it “was created simply as a pass-through entity through which Santos funneled illegal campaign contributions.”

Former Rep. Pete King (R-Seaford) said Republicans are “going to be very leery” of Santos, and likely will not seat him on any major committees until the probes into his dealings are complete.

King said Democrats from New York’s House delegation also are likely to keep their distance.

“The whole 28 years I was down there … any issue involving New York and Long Island we always worked together,” King said of bipartisan working relationships.

When “you need something for New York, or there’s an issue you’re particularly interested in, you need to be able to go to a Democrat to try to find a way to work it into the final bill," King said.

"I can’t see anyone dealing with Santos at that level.”

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.