Slamming the coverage of his travails as "media nonsense," Rep. George Santos on Thursday defiantly insisted he had no plans to resign from Congress.
"I came here to serve the people, not politicians and party leaders, and I'm going to do just that," Santos said in an interview with Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz on Steve Bannon's "War Room" program. "I was elected by 142,000 people. Until those same 142,000 people tell me they don't want me, we'll find out in two years."
"I've worked my entire life, I’ve lived an honest life, I’ve never been accused, sued of any bad doings," Santos said - declining to specifically answer Gaetz's repeated questions about the source of $700,000 he lent to his campaign.
"I'll tell you where it didn’t come from: China. Ukraine. How about that?" he said during the mostly friendly interview, before pivoting to say that he's focused on working on the issues that matter to his constituents — like addressing a crime ring of auto thefts in affluent neighborhoods in his congressional district.
When asked by Gaetz if the New York Times — which first brought to light Santos's many, many falsehoods — is going to "come for" other Republicans, Santos offered a warning for them.
"Every last one of them. I just pray for all of you, when they come for you, that you have the same strength I have," Santos replied.
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His comments come one day after virtually the entire Republican leadership of New York called on Santos to resign from Congress, saying he was "disgraced" and needed to step aside.
The call Wednesday from the leadership of his own party was the strongest yet against the embattled freshman, who represents New York's 3rd District, comprising parts of Queens and much of Nassau County. As of Thursday morning, six of the other 10 GOP members of the New York congressional delegation have now called for Santos to go.
"George Santos' campaign last year, was a campaign of deceit, lies and fabrication," Nassau County GOP Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo, Jr. said, while joined by roughly three dozen GOP elected officials, calling him a stain on the party and Congress. "He deceived the voters of the 3rd Congressional District. He deceived the members of the Nassau County Republican Committee, elected officials, his colleagues, candidates, his opponents and even some of the media."
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In recent weeks, Santos has admitted to lying about his educational background, his work experience and his investments -- and he faces a growing list of alleged fabrications and purported financial misconduct that he has not yet acknowledged or refuted.
"His lies were not mere fibs," Cairo went on to say. "He disgraced the House of Representatives. In particular, his fabrications went too far, many groups were hurt — specifically, I look at those families who were touched by the horrors of the Holocaust." (Santos also allegedly lied about his grandparents surviving the Holocaust.)
Cairo went on to call for Santos' "immediate resignation" saying that the disgraced congressman is not welcomed at GOP headquarters in Nassau County.
"He has no place in the Nassau County Republican Committee, nor should he serve in public service, nor as an elected official," Cairo said. "He is not welcomed here at republican headquarters, for meetings or any other events...we do not consider him one of our congress people. Today, on behalf of the Nassau County Republican Committee, I am calling him for his immediate resignation."
Republican donors say they were "duped" by Santos; Democrats have already filed ethics complaints against him, and a campaign finance watchdog has also lodged a complaint with the Federal Election Commission regarding fundraising irregularities.
"I just can’t see any way that I or my colleagues can deal with someone who is appearing to be a pathological liar," said Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
Supervisor for the Town of North Hempstead Jennifer DeSena was one Republican who felt she was deceived by Santos.
"The lies George Santos told are too numerous to count," DeSena said. "He lied to me personally while he sought my endorsement. While I am offended and disgusted at his deceit, my true concern is for the residents of the 3rd Congressional District. He's betrayed the public's trust."
Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin, Jr. went on to call Santos "a joke" who has united the country in their opposition towards him.
"He's a national joke. He's an international joke, but this joke's gotta go," Clavin said.
North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena seemingly took pity on Santos in her criticism, saying "he needs help. This is not a normal person."
Following the Nassau County GOP leaders' press conference, the Conservative Party of New York State also issued a statement calling on Santos to resign.
"The New York State Conservative Party stands with Nassau County Republicans in calling on newly elected Rep. George Santos to resign. Mr. Santos’s profound use of mistruths as a candidate morally disqualifies him from serving in public office and exposes him to potential legal action, seriously compromising his ability to represent his constituents," the statement reads in part.
Rep. Nick Langworthy, the chairman of the state GOP, also issued a statement calling on Santos to go.
Earlier Wednesday, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy gave a very pointed "no" when asked by reporters if Santos would be assigned to any of the House's key committees.
"He is going to have to build the trust here and he’s going to have the opportunity to try to do that," McCarthy said when asked if he trusted Santos.
The newly elected House Speaker said he has no plans to take action against Santos, saying that it's up to voters — not him — to decide Santos' fate.
Meanwhile, minutes after Nassau County GOP leaders call for his resignation, Santos told a group of reporters in Washington, DC he will not resign. In what’s become a daily game of reporter cat-and-mouse, Santos was cornered at an elevator when he told the scrum that he would not be giving up his seat.
"I will not. I will not," he said.
Santos later took to Twitter to double-down on his stance.
"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," Santos tweeted. "I will NOT resign!"
In a subsequent tweet, Santos seemingly taunted CNN senior political commentator and former congressman Adam Kinzinger to go on the network and "cry about it" when Kinzinger told him to "resign now."
Santos has called the fabrications on his official campaign biography merely resumé embellishments. But questions about his truthfulness have only snowballed. The freshman congressman’s falsehoods include not only details of his education and job history, but also his criminal history in Brazil, his nonprofit charity and about being Jewish.
Cairo was asked why the party didn’t fact-check Santos before endorsing him. He said he took Santos at his word.
"We are not going to change our process. Shame on me for believing people," Cairo said, offering a mea culpa for the whole affair and admitting his party failed to properly vet the candidate he now admits they didn't know very well. "I’m disappointed and we learned from our experience and our vetting process has to go much deeper."
Meanwhile, for their part, House Republicans mostly echoed McCarthy, stressing that one is "innocent until proven guilty."
"What are the charges against him? Is there a charge against him? You know, in America today, you're innocent till proven guilty. So just because somebody doesn't like the press you have, it's not me that can oversay what the voters say," McCarthy said.
When asked what he made of some of the allegations regarding lies Santos told on his resume, McCarthy said "so did a lot of people here in the Senate and others."
Additionally, Rep. Barry Loudermilk told reporters that he expects Santos will get committee assignments.
"I imagine he'll get committee assignments just like anybody else would, just like if you were accused of something until you're indicted or you know that you're proven guilty, then I think we stand by the Constitution," Loudermilk said.
Were Santos to resign, Gov. Kathy Hochul would have 10 days to call a special election to replace him, which would have to be held between 70 to 80 days from the date of that proclamation.
