Benjamin Ashford|New York lawmakers demand Rep. George Santos resign immediately

NEW YORK - New York lawmakers are making it clear they want Rep. George Santos to immediately resign. 

Their reactions came after the House Ethics Committee released its scathing report on Santos, which found there was "substantial evidence" of wrongdoing by him.  

Santos responded to the report on social media, saying he will not seek reelection. Santos blasted the report as "a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk" in his lengthy statement. 

"As the governor of the state who actually needs members of Congress who are focused on doing their jobs and delivering for New York, I'm calling on him to resign," Gov. Kathy Hochul said. 

"George Santos should end this farce and resign immediately. If he refuses, he must be removed from Congress," Rep. Mike Lawler said. "His conduct is not only unbecoming and embarrassing, it is criminal. He is unfit to serve and should resign today."

"The bipartisan Ethics Committee confirmed what most New Yorkers knew months ago: George Santos is a total fraud who stole an election to get to Congress. The House must use our Constitutional expulsion powers. This will let the Third District participate in a valid election," Rep. Nick LaLota wrote on X. 

"As expected, this report confirms what we knew: George Santos is a fraud, committed fraud & should not serve in the House of Representatives. This is why I called for his resignation, voted for his expulsion & believe he needs to be removed from Congress," Rep. Marc Molinaro wrote on X.  

"I believe this is long overdue. Santos should resign, or they should remove him from Congress. Also, if he was smart, I think he would enter a plea of guilty and work out the best deal he can with the Justice Department. He does not belong in Congress. I've never seen anyone with such a disgraceful record, both before, during and after he was in Congress. So no, to me, it's important that, based on the findings of the Ethics Committee report, that to me is sufficient basis to expel him from the Congress," former Rep. Peter King said. 

King said he thinks that Santos either resigned or was expelled now, he feels it would not have a major issue by the 2024 election. 

"The average voter will see the Republicans did what they had to do, Congress did what it had to do, and we can have a real, honest election," King said. "I think, again, for his own good, he should resign and work out an agreement with the Justice Department, and be gone. Because right now, he is dead man walking." 

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• George Santos