The George Santos Scandal: Another Consequence of Republican Chaos

The story of George Santos, the newly elected Representative of New York’s 3rd congressional district is shaking American politics since journalists discovered that he lied about much of his resume to get elected to Congress last November. A large coalition of politicians, activists, journalists, and people from the civil society has repeatedly called for George Santos’ resignation since he took office in the House. However, Santos has barely answered questions about his lies, refused to make his mea culpa, and obviously ignored the calls for his resignation.  This huge backlash against George Santos has many implications because it highlights the political contradictions within the Republican Party and how the division between MAGA and pro-establishment Republicans has completely taken over the party’s landscape to the point that a supposedly democratic and transparent process let a serial liar win a congressional seat. 

George Santos lied to the American public

George Santos’ story poses the question of transparency and accountability in politics. He decided to lie on much of his resume to appeal to his constituency and get elected to Congress. He embellished his educational and work experience to appear as a successful businessman. Santos not only made false claims about the high school and college he attended, but also his work history. He stated that he has worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup in the past, but the New York Times revealed that he never did. Further, a key dimension of Santos’ platform was that he portrayed himself as a candidate who would become the first openly gay non-incumbent Trump supporter member of Congress. To support this narrative, he identified himself with various religious and ethnic backgrounds to show his sexual, ethnic, and religious diversity compared to the rest of the Republican Party. For instance, he falsely claimed to be Jewish and that some of his family members were Holocaust survivors. Santos’ goal was to depict himself as a modern and singular leader in the Trump-backed branch – the Make America Great Again (MAGA) branch – of the Republican Party. To do so, he lied about much of  his private and public life, and appealed to several communities, interest groups, and professional associations – such as pro-gun rights and pro-life groups – to gain political support. George Santos’ campaign based on lies was successful because he managed to flip a Democrat-controlled House seat and become a member of Congress. However, his election poses the critical question of transparency in politics – how can a serial liar like Santos be still given the ability to represent the American people? In addition, the Santos scandal also raises the issue of accountability, and Santos has refused to answer most questions from journalists, leaders, and activists since he got to Capitol Hill in January.

Despite the backlash, George Santos is still in Congress

The revelations about George Santos’ repeated lies generated a huge backlash since the news broke in late December. The list of his scandals grew through January and February, but Santos still refuses to address criticism. Moreover, he is now facing federal and local investigations which further questions his legitimacy to stay in Congress. The local investigation in Nassau County focuses on his numerous lies during his campaign, while the federal one relates to alleged irregularities in his campaign financing. Political pressure on Santos substantially increased in recent weeks after Democratic political leaders, activists, and civil society members launched a campaign for his resignation. Indeed, the Washington Post found that the vast majority, 78% of Santos’ own constituents want him to resign. Even so, most Republican members of Congress have resisted calling for Santos’ resignation so far. The new Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has repeatedly refused to condemn Santos’ actions, saying that it was up to the voters to decide on his fate. 

The scandal around George Santos shows how the Republican Party’s leadership is not concerned by issues of legitimacy, but rather sees Santos as a valuable member of the new tiny House majority in the House. For one, Santos publicly supported McCarthy when the latter struggled to get elected Speaker of the House in early January, consequently winning him  the political reward of  not being put under pressure by the party’s establishment despite his growing illegitimacy. McCarthy also made important concessions to the group of hardline Republicans who, for a long time, refused to elect him as Speaker of the House. Overall, political manoeuvres and ambitions shape the GOP’s platform. This illustrates the party’s current inability to govern because it is not capable of rallying around a similar set of ideas and policies. There is still a clear division between pro-Trump Republicans and the party’s establishment. Santos benefited from this division because he navigated between them. Therefore, he is still in Congress and has enough political capital to reprove calls for resignation as he is widely supported by his Republican counterparts. Finally, the procedure to remove him from Congress seems unlikely to succeed because it requires two-thirds of the House to vote in favour. 

The political contradictions of the Republican Party

The Santos scandal poses a great challenge to the GOP, and the party has decided to ignore it given it has much bigger problems to deal with right now. Among them, Republicans have a historically small majority in the House this congressional term; they cannot afford to see Santos removed from his seat because it would undermine the already weak Republican majority. The party is also deeply fractured internally. There are massive divisions between the far-right branch – MAGA – and the more moderate and pro-establishment stream of the GOP. In fact, it was these political fights within the party that led to the difficult election of Rep. McCarty as Speaker of the House after 15 rounds. This was a historic moment for American politics because it was the first time in 100 years that the vote to elect the Speaker of the House required more than a single round. Consequently, when revelations about Santos’ lies broke out, it was a minor problem for GOP leaders. The party has to deal with controlling the House with this thin majority, the influence of former President Trump on national politics, the potential political damage of current investigations on Trump, and the incoming 2024 presidential race, among other pressing issues. Nonetheless, the party has called itself that of “law and order” for decades. Still, Santos has lied to voters and allegedly breached the law regarding campaign financing rules, but does not suffer any political threat from his pro-“law and order” colleagues. 

This speaks to the political contradiction between what the GOP stands for and how it acts. It illustrates the problem of legitimacy for the GOP when the supposed party of “law and order” supports a serial liar. Finally, the lack of a unified essential set of ideas in the GOP –a consequence of the populist shift under the Trump presidency – means that the party does not follow any clear position, but instead prioritises its short-term political interests over transparency and accountability. 

The George Santos scandal is a consequence of the Republican Party’s disarray in recent years. The fight for the control of the party between MAGA and pro-establishment leaders has completely taken over its landscape to the point that a supposedly democratic process could not catch a serial liar who won a seat in the 2022 midterms. The validity of his resume is merely a minor consideration for the party’s leaders since securing Republican-controlled seats is critical for the historically-small Republican majority’s ability to legislate in this new congressional term.

Featured image by U.S. House of Photography is licensed under Public Domain

Edited by Dima Kiwan.