“I’m glad George is honest”

Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is defending New York Congressman-elect George Santos as he faces backlash for fabricating details of his personal and professional life.

Greene, of Georgia, praised her new GOP colleague for allegedly “being honest with his district” in a series of tweets attacking Democrats on Tuesday. Santos has admitted he never worked for financial firms Citigroup and Goldman Sachs or earned a multi-degree college degree, as he claimed during the campaign.

Santos defended the lies as a mere “embellishment” to his resume in an interview with the New York Post. He has also said that he “never claimed to be Jewish,” insisting that he had only claimed to be “Jewish” in the past. Greene brushed off the inconsistencies on Twitter and tried to divert focus from Santos by attacking Democrats.

“George Santos lied about his resume and the left is demanding his resignation,” Greene said in one tweetbefore referring to an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory accusing Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota of “marrying her brother” and launching attacks on Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and murder victim George Floyd.

Greene went on to accuse Deputy Health Secretary Rachel Levine, who is transgender, of “lying” about her gender. She then targeted Democratic MPs Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, as well as outgoing National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci.

Greene also repeated falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines, arguing that the Jan. 6 House committee “lied” in accusing former President Donald Trump and other Republicans of “organizing an insurgency.”

“The Left doesn’t care about lying,” Greene tweeted. “The real reason they’re attacking George Santos is because he’s the first openly gay Republican to be elected and they hate him for it.

“I’m glad George is being honest with his district now and I look forward to seeing George legislate and vote,” she continued.

Although Santos is openly gay, some have also questioned his sexual orientation. A report published last week by The Daily Beast cites court documents revealing Santos’ previously undisclosed divorce from a woman in September 2019. Santos told that post Office that he had dated women in the past but is now “very gay”.

Misrepresentations of his heritage prompted the Republican Jewish Coalition on Tuesday to ban Santos from attending future group events.

“He deceived us and misrepresented his legacy,” Coalition CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement. “In public comments and to us, he previously claimed to be Jewish… He will not be welcome at any future RJC event.”

Other claims Santos has admitted to lying around include that he doesn’t own 13 properties he previously claimed belonged to him. Instead, the New York Republican owed a landlord thousands of dollars in unpaid rent.

While Democrats have called for his resignation or ouster from the newly Republican-controlled House of Representatives when it meets next month, Santos said he looks forward to taking his seat.

Democrat Robert Zimmerman, who lost to Santos in November, called for the Republican to step down and took to Twitter to call for a special election.

“George, if that’s even your real name, if you’re so confident that #NY3 voters still trust you – resign and run against me again in a special election,” Zimmerman said tweeted. “Face voters with your true past and answer questions about your criminal history. Let the voters decide.”

news week has reached out to Greene’s office for comment.