Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus calls for Santos resignation

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Members of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus demanded that Santos “step down immediately” after he lied about his background.
• Santos claimed that his company “lost four employees” in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting and that he plans to hire victims.
• The Equality Caucus denounced him for misrepresenting his connection to a tragedy “for political sympathy.”

Congressman-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) is facing growing calls for his resignation for lying about his campaign profile.

Seven Democrats in the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus demanded that Santos “step down immediately,” stating, the “LGBTQ+ community and the people of New York’s Third Congressional District deserve better.”

The joint statement was signed on Wednesday by Reps. Mark Takano (Calif.), Sharice Davids (Kansas), Angie Craig (Minn.), Chris Pappas (N.H.), Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), David Cicilline (R.I.), and Mark Pocan (Wis.), as well as openly gay Reps.-elect Robert Garcia (Calif.), Eric Sorensen (Ill.), and Becca Balint (Vt.).

Santos secured a congressional seat representing New York’s 3rd District when he won against Democrat Robert Zimmerman in November.

Earlier this month, reports from The New York Times and other outlets revealed that Santos lied about his personal and professional background during his campaign.

Santos made misleading remarks about working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs and earning a college degree from New York’s Baruch College. He later admitted in a New York Post interview that he “never worked directly” with the companies and that he did not graduate from “any institution of higher learning.”

Santos, who is Catholic, also previously identified himself as a “proud American Jew.” He later insisted that he only said he was “Jew-ish” upon learning that his maternal grandmother was born Jewish before converting.

He downplayed his misrepresentations as mere resumé “embellishments.”

During a WNYC interview in November, Santos claimed that his company “lost four employees” in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting. But the Times revealed that none of the 49 victims worked for any firm connected to Santos.

This week, Santos told former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) in a WABC radio interview that a company he plans to launch in Florida will be hiring the victims.

On Wednesday, members of the Equality Caucus declared that “a person who misrepresents their connection to that tragedy for political sympathy does not deserve to be a Member of Congress.”

Several other Democrats called for Santos’s resignation.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), the incoming vice chair of the House Democratic caucus, said that Santos “should resign” after having “admitted his whopping lies.” He also urged House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to “call for a vote to expel” if he doesn’t resign.

Local Republican leaders have also demanded that Santos be held accountable for misleading voters, but top Congress Republicans have remained silent.

On Tuesday, fellow New York Rep.-elect Nick LaLota (R) urged the House Ethics Committee to conduct “a full investigation” and involve law enforcement if necessary.

Nassau County GOP Chairman Joseph Cairo expressed disappointment in Santos, from whom he expected “more than just a blanket apology.”

Source: Aol.com