“When public servants deceive and mislead those they are tasked with serving, they are no longer fit to work for the people. For his betrayal of the public’s trust, I call on Congressman George Santos to resign.”— Rep. Anthony D’Esposito
D’Esposito is not the only one unhappy with George Santos. Dozens of Republican officials in New York, where Santos was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022, are also calling for Santos to resign. There’s just one problem: every violation of the public trust Santos committed has also been committed by the twice impeached disgraced ex-president.
Both Santos and Trump appear to have committed fraud — Trump’s charitable trust was fined and disbanded for it — and several open investigations will likely prove more fraud on Trump’s part. Santos is under investigation for fraud in Brazil, but even without a settled court case, he’s already admitted to lying about his education and work history. In other words, he ran for office based on a fraudulent account of his qualifications and experience.
Trump also lied about his qualifications. He’s been selling himself as a successful businessman his entire life, but his recently released taxes tell a different story.
There is little to be gained by listing all of Santos’ and Trump’s ethical and moral failings. The point is that it’s unreasonable to expect the Republican Party to disavow a newly elected member of Congress for behavior demonstrated by their party leader.
George Santos is a direct result of the Republican Party’s failure to demand qualified, capable, and honest candidates.
In the old days, dishonest, unqualified, and incompetent candidates would be exposed before they received the support of any major political party. Back then, it was considered shameful for a politician to lie to the American people. Today it’s the new normal.
As long as Santos backs McCarthy, McCarthy will back Santos
When Kevin McCarthy finally got the votes he needed to become Speaker of the House, he did so with the help of George Santos, who voted in favor of McCarthy 15 consecutive times. With a slim four-seat Republican majority in the House, McCarthy can’t afford to lose a single Republican member. So, as long as Santos back McCarthy, McCarthy will back Santos.
McCarthy’s only comment to date has been to remind reporters that Santos was elected to serve and “He answers to the voters.” While this is true, a slew of elected Republicans in Santos’ home state of New York are also voters, and they want him out. Still, this does not move McCarthy one iota. Nor is he moved by the knowledge that voters based their support of Santos on false information.
As Charlies Sykes put it on Deadline White House this week: “McCarthy is not concerned about morality — he’s concerned about math.”
What about the Ethics Committee?
If you think the Ethics Committee should remove Santos, think again. While complaints have been filed against Santos by the Ethics Committee and the FEC, they are notoriously slow-moving entities. So if Garland’s pace in investigating Trump’s crimes has infuriated you, don’t count on the Office of Congressional Ethics to boot Santos out of the House.
According to MSNBC, “On Monday, Republicans voted almost unanimously for rules that ruin the Office of Congressional Ethics’ capacity to function in the short term.” Well, of course, they did! The OCE has historically been one of the only resources for ensuring accountability in Congress.
Only one Republican voted against the rules package that includes changes to the OCE, and it wasn’t George Santos. (Worth noting: among the changes is a provision adding term limits for the OCE board. Unfortunately, that means three of the four Democrats on the Committee now will be ineligible to continue to serve.)
Are Democrats to blame for Santos’ House seat?
According to an NBC News op-ed, it’s not Republicans but Democrats who are responsible for the Santos fiasco. In our topsy-turvy post-truth world, the party that supported George Santos and is now incapable of dealing with him appropriately is not the one we should blame.
The real issue isn’t the poor vetting on the part of the Republican Party. Instead, it’s the crappy opposition research done by the Democrats.
And that, as they say, is what we call “spin.”