Representatives Anthony D’Esposito, Nick LaLota, Nick Langworthy and Brandon Williams, all newly elected from New York, called on Mr. Santos to resign on Wednesday. Of those, only Mr. Langworthy, who serves as the state’s party chairman, is in the Republican safe zone. Nassau County GOP President Joseph G. Cairo Jr. has also called for Mr. Santos to step down.
On Thursday, two more Republican freshmen from New York, Congressmen Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro, said they also believe Santos should step down.
Mr Lawler said in a statement that his new counterpart had “lost the confidence and support of his party, voters and colleagues”, adding that Mr Santos was unable to fulfill his mandate. his duties as a Member of Parliament.
At Wednesday’s news conference, where a string of local Republican elected officials demanded Santos’ resignation, Cairo said he had not spoken to McCarthy.
However, he added, he hopes that Republican leaders in the House “will support us.”
Instead, they took a forehand stance. Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, the 4th Republican who supported Santos during his campaign, notably sided with her party leaders rather than her state congressional delegation , protecting her new colleague.
“It’s going to happen on its own,” Stefanik told CNN. “He is a duly elected member of Congress. There have been Democratic members of Congress who have faced investigations before.”
Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and majority leader, ignored questions about Mr. Santos, saying it was an issue to be resolved “internally”.
