Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., may have won his New York congressional seat by eight points, but he did it "with a really suspect background" and now he should step down, fellow freshman Rep. Brandon Williams, also a New York Republican, told Newsmax on Thursday.
"I think George needs to return to private life, get all this sorted out and, you know, frankly, get rid of the distraction," Williams told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "I don't like to pile on a guy when he's down. Enough has been said … give some space for the party, for Nassau County, Long Island, to move on."
Williams' comments come after GOP leaders in New York's Nassau County on Wednesday called for Santos to resign from Congress over his "deceit, lies, and fabrication." Santos has refused calls for his resignation but has admitted he fabricated his background and resume.
Williams told Newsmax that as a former strategic missile officer on a Trident-class submarine, he was in the chain of command for the release of nuclear weapons, so he has a "very high standard for being straightforward," but Santos "has fallen short of that by a wide margin, and it's pretty shocking."
And even though House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has a tight GOP margin in the House, having Santos in office is "dragging" down the other lawmakers from Long Island and New York, said Williams.
"It's not just one vote for McCarthy," he said. "It's really four seats. Remember, New York delivered the majority, and we have to be loyal to the NY GOP that brought us into this majority."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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