Nassau County GOP call for George Santos' immediate resignation; Santos says he will not
WESTBURY, N.Y. -- Congressman George Santos is facing mounting legal problems, including a House ethics complaint filed by his fellow delegates from New York.
Members of his own party spoke out against him Wednesday on Long Island, calling on the freshman congressman to resign.
"George Santos' campaign last year was a campaign of deceit, lies and fabrication," said Nassau Republican chairman Joseph Cairo. "His lies were not mere fibs. He disgraced the House of Representatives."
Cairo and dozens of top party leaders are hoping to thwart potential damage on Long Island to the Republican brand.
"He has no place in the Nassau County Republican Committee nor should he serve in public service nor as an elected official. Today, on behalf of the Nassau County Republican Committee, I am calling for his immediate resignation," said Cairo.
One by one, they stood at the podium blasting the newly sworn-in congressman, his claims of his holocaust background, embellished resume, making millions on Wall Street.
"He's unified the country in their opposition to him. He's a national joke. He's an international joke. And this joke's got to go," said Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald Clavin.
On Capitol Hill, stepping out of his congressional office, Santos was asked if he would resign.
"I will not," he said.
Reporters asked Speaker Kevin McCarthy if Santos would be placed on committees - no, he said.
CBS2's Jennifer McLogan traveled to Douglaston, Queens. His office appeared to be open for the first time.
"Do we expect to see Mr. Santos here, in his congressional office?" McLogan asked.
"That's to be determined," a person at the office answered.
"How do you deal with someone who is an out and out liar? And I couldn't stomach doing that any more," said Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. "He's basically confessed. He needs help. This is not a normal person."
Blakeman said constituents of Santos are being directed to the offices of GOP Rep. Anthony D'Esposito for help.
Santos tweeted he regrets to hear they won't work with him, reiterating he will not resign.
I was elected to serve the people of #NY03 not the party & politicians, I remain committed to doing that and regret to hear that local officials refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living.
— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) January 11, 2023
I will NOT resign!
"I was elected to serve the people of [New York's 3rd Congressional District], not the party & politicians, I remain committed to doing that and regret to hear that local officials refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living. I will NOT resign!" Santos wrote.
"I've been covering politics from Islip to Israel for 50 years years and I've never seen anything like this, where a party not only disavows a member politically, which happens from time to time, but governmentally - as in - we'd rather work with Democrats than with you," said Lawrence Levy, dean of Hofstra's National Center of Suburban Studies.
Santos now faces local, state and federal probes into his fabrications and finances.
"Whatever the outcome is, we will act accordingly," Cairo said.
He promised vetting of candidates will dig much deeper going forward.
This comes a day after Democratic Congressmen Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman handed Santos a formal ethics complaint they filed against him.
"I don't think George Santos should be seated on committees until there's been a full ethics investigation," Rep. Dusty Johnson, of South Dakota, said.
The question remains: Are enough Republicans angry enough to make change happen?
"The House Ethics Committee is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, which means there has to be some bipartisan mandate to move forward with anything -- to recommend sanctions or plow ahead with an investigation. That means Congressman Santos' fellow Republicans have to support taking the action against him," CBS Congressional Correspondent Scott MacFarlane explained.
Santos admittedly lied about his work experience and background, but the ethics complaint is asking for an investigation into whether he broke the law on his financial disclosure forms, including how he donated $700,000 to his own campaign when he reportedly only made $55,000 a year.