All opinions expressed in the article are the author’s opinions and do not reflect the views of Forest Hills Public Schools.
Representative George Santos has overstayed his welcome in the House of Representatives according to Democrats and Republicans alike. George Santos has long been overshadowed by his inappropriate and false claims. Over his nearly 1 year journey in office, he has accomplished seemingly nothing. Representative Santos has been stripped of his committee roles while simultaneously losing the privilege of respect from nearly every member in the House and only continues to decline in polling nationwide. These issues, however, were unavoidable.
Santos, known as Congress’ biggest fabricator, has pulled one of the longest public political stunts possibly ever. He has stayed in Congress despite having a completely false background, and one of the most scandalous political terms since the Nixon Administration.
Santos is known for fabricating every detail about himself and becoming one of the biggest political frauds of all time. Santos first rose to fame after speaking at Former President Trump’s January 6th rally on the Ellipse, a public park near the White House. George Santos later ran for Congress in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, located in Long Island. On November 3rd, Santos was a part of history, as he was recognized as being one of the first openly LGBTQ candidates in the general congressional election. Unfortunately for Representative Santos, this seems to be the only time that he will be going down in the history books for something marking progress in our nation.
Months after his election, the New York Times first revealed in December of 2022 that Mr. Santos was not the soon-to-be representative that he had claimed to be. The information compromised and disproved substantial amounts of both personal and political information that Mr. Santos had used to gain support from his voters. Representative Santos clearly knew exactly what information was needed to run the perfect political campaign in a Democratic-trending district, and used it to his full advantage in the off-year election.
George Anthony Devolder Santos deceived and confused his constituents regarding his financial situation and religious affiliation. Lying about these 2 key factors undermines the integrity of his entire platform.
Listed below, are a few of the many mistruths that have been revealed about Representative Santos over the past year.
Representative Santos allegedly used campaign funds for personal travel, Botox skin care procedures, Hermes bags and purses, and many purchases from beauty giant Sephora.
A House Ethics Committee report found that Santos spent upwards of 50,000 dollars which was deposited into his personal bank accounts after receiving that exact amount from political donors in the Long Island Area.
Santos allegedly lied about his unemployment status to receive unemployment benefits from the government.
Santos allegedly received more than 24,000 dollars worth of unemployment benefits after claiming to be unemployed during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Federal prosecutors say that Santos lied about his status, and illegally applied for the programs that helped pay citizens who were laid off during the pandemic. Other personal records show that during the time of receiving his unemployment checks, Santas was employed by an investment firm making upwards of 120,000 dollars a year.
George Santos allegedly committed identity theft, and credit card fraud/theft.
In an indictment filed on October 10th, Santos was accused of committing identity fraud and credit card theft. Prosecutors say he made unauthorized donations using campaign donor’s credit card information and stole family members’ identities.
Freshman Representative Santos lied about where he went to High School… and College.
Santos claims he went to the Horace Mann School in the Bronx for his early years of High School, but had to leave the well-known academy because, “my parents fell on hard times, which was something that would later become known as the depression of 2008.” A spokesperson from the school told a CNN reporter that there were no records of his attending the school. Santos later confessed in an interview with the New York Post, “I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he said. “I own up to that … We do stupid things in life.”
Santos lied about creating and leading an animal charity.
Representative Santos’ political campaign bio claimed he ran a foundation, Friends of Pets United, saving 2,500 dogs and cats between 2013 and 2018. However, the IRS claims there are no tax or registration records of the organization. There is also no apparent web or social media record of the organization existing online. The New York Times stated that Santos would take checks written to the charity, and cash them out as his alias “Anthony Devolder”
Representative Santos has confusing false religious claims.
George Santos previously has claimed a few major issues regarding his religion. He originally claimed he was Jewish, then later backtracked, claiming, “I said I was Jew-ish,” meaning he was maybe kind of Jewish. Shockingly, this confession came during his admission involving lying about key details of his bio, during an interview with the New York Post.
Clearly, George Santos is unfit for any office. Any representation in our government that endorses lying, fabrications of the past, and the spread of misinformation has no room to stay.
Santos will face an expulsion vote on Friday, December 1st, in front of the whole house. Yet again, another gag in the legislation on our already divisive and dysfunctional House of Representatives.
Santos must be removed as he is not the person he was elected as, instead, he is rather a facade of the “perfect” politician.
Editors note: Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives by 311 House members voting yes, and only 114 members voting no. Two members voted “Present,” both were Democrats. 8 members did not vote. Santos voted against his own expulsion.
