Lee Zeldin says George Santos should resign
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Former congressman and Republican nominee for governor of New York Lee Zeldin believes Rep. George Santos (R-NY) should resign from office, saying voters in the district Santos represents are “embarrassed” by the freshman lawmaker amid his many scandals.
Zeldin made the comments in a New York Post interview in which he sounded the alarm on what Santos’s precarious predicament could mean for Republicans in the House of Representatives.
GEORGE SANTOS REACHES DEAL WITH BRAZILIAN PROSECUTORS TO REMOVE CRIMINAL CHARGES
The biggest concern for the House GOP, according to Zeldin, is first-term Republican House members who voters may associate with Santos, also a first-term member. To Zeldin, they will likely face tough reelection campaigns in swing districts, and they “don’t need or want” the Santos distractions.
“If I were him, I would have resigned,” the New York representative from 2015 to 2023 said. “The people who voted for him are more upset than the people who didn’t vote for him.”
What are the Santos distractions that have caused bipartisan support for his resignation?
The New York Republican is being charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, the Department of Justice announced last week. As massive as the legal troubles are for Santos, many people see his alleged lying on the campaign trail from a moral perspective as just as problematic.
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Santos pleaded not guilty to the charges at his first court appearance last week before claiming he was a victim of a “witch hunt.” He was released on a $500,000 bond.
Also last week, the 34-year-old reached a deal with Brazilian prosecutors to remove criminal charges obtained when he was 19.