By Oyintari Ben
George Santos, a Republican, elected for a seat in the US House of Representatives, revealed on Monday that he had lied about his work history and level of education throughout his successful campaign.
In an interview with the New York Post, Santos said: “My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry.”
Additionally, he stated to the publication, “I campaigned talking about the people’s needs, not my resume,” and he continued, “I plan to deliver on the promises I made throughout the campaign.”
Last Monday, The New York Times questioned the life narrative Santos, 34, had portrayed during his candidacy.
The New York-based Baruch College denied the Queens resident’s claim that he had earned a degree from them.
Santos said this on Monday: “I didn’t acquire a degree from any college or university. I regret and feel ashamed of embellishing my resume.
He added: “I own up to that. … We make foolish decisions in life.”
Santos also claimed to have worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, but neither organization was able to locate any records to support that claim.
Santos told the Post that he had “never worked directly” for any financial institution and that his remarks had been “poorly chosen.”
According to what he told the Post, both companies did business with Link Bridge, where he served as vice president.
A claim on Santos’ campaign website that his grandparents “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and again fled persecution during WWII” had been disputed by another news source, the Jewish American website The Forward.
Santos stated to the Post, “I never claimed to be Jewish.” I’m a Catholic. I declared myself to be “Jew-ish” after learning that my mother’s family was Jewish.
Santos originally ran for Congress in 2020 but was unsuccessful. In the district that covers some Long Island suburbs and a small portion of Queens, he ran again in 2022 and won.
