100 days of George Santos

When U.S. Rep. George Santos took office in the House of Representatives on Jan. 3, his numerous fabrications about his past were already national news. He marked 100 days in office on April 12. What has he done in those first 100 days?

Although Santos officially succeeded Tom Suozzi on Jan. 3, he was not sworn in until Jan. 7, due to the fact that Kevin McCarthy needed 15 votes to become speaker of the House.
Just days later, on Jan. 11, Santos faced calls to resign from his Long Island colleagues in the House, Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito. Andrew Garbarino, the fourth congressman from Long Island, could not comment because he is a member of the House Ethics Committee. Joining LaLota and D’Esposito in their demand was the entire Nassau Republican Party, led by Joseph Cairo.

All three supervisors of the townships in Nassau County — Don Clavin, of Hempstead; Joseph Saladino, of Oyster Bay; and Jennifer DeSena, of North Hempstead — spoke out against Santos. Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman declared that he would have no dealings with Santos until he resigned. Blakeman also indicated that D’Esposito would assist Santos’ constituents in the 3rd Congressional District, and that Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand would be available for assistance if D’Esposito could not be reached.

Santos ignored the calls to resign. And not all Republicans were so quick to denounce him. In the same week that the Nassau GOP called for his resignation, the New York Young Republicans Club, led by Gavin Wax, announced that it would stand behind Santos because of the GOP’s slim House majority.

In January, Santos briefly sat on two House committees, Small Business, and Science, Space, and Technology. But on Jan. 31, he resigned from both committees after a discussion with McCarthy. Santos refused to give reporters much detail on why he did so, but McCarthy told reporters that it was “until he could clear everything up.”

In February, Santos attended President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union Address, at which he had a less-than-cordial exchange with Sen. Mitt Romney that was caught on camera. “You don’t belong here,” Romney reportedly told Santos.

Despite all of the controversy surrounding him, Santos has not sad idly in Congress. On Feb. 24, he joined Representatives Lauren Boebert, Barry Moore and Andrew Clyde in sponsoring a bill that would make the AR-15 the “national gun.”

On March 3, Santos introduced his first bill — the SALT Relief Act, which would raise the $10,000 cap on the income tax deduction for state and local taxes to $50,000 for single filers. D’Esposito and LaLota said at the time that they would seek similar relief for their constituents, but refused to work with Santos on a bill. Last week, they, along with Andrew Garbarino, introduced a SALT relief bill of their own, the SALT Deductibility Act of 2023.

On March 10, Santos introduced the Executive Mental Competency Protection Act of 2023, which calls for annual cognitive testing of the president — in keeping with Santos’s view that Biden is not mentally fit for the presidency.

On March 30, Santos introduced the Women’s Rights Protection Act, which would cut federal funding to any country that discriminates based on gender.

He introduced a similar bill a day later, the Equality and Fiscal Accountability Act, which would cut federal funding to any nation that publicly persecutes LGBTQ people.

In a press release marking his first 100 days, Santos claimed that he had cosponsored 63 bills and given 11 floor speeches. He also touted his record on helping constituents with passports and immigration, stating that he had resolved 143 of 238 cases that had reached his office.

Despite the media firestorm he had generated, Santos declared on Monday that he would run for re-election in 2024. That same day, New York Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs called on House Republicans to exert more pressure on Santos to resign.
Santos may very well face primary challenges from members of his own party ahead of next year’s general election.