The Bipartisan Public Has Spoken, and George Santos Should Quit: Poll

In a new poll, the majority of respondents say New York Representative George Santos should resign after fabricating large parts of his resume.

Santos, a freshman Republican congressman representing parts of Long Island and Queens, has faced a variety of public criticism after a report from The New York Times late last year found that he had lied about major parts of his background while running for the 118th congressional term. Santos' list of lies pertain to his education, employment history, charitable work and Jewish heritage.

In a poll published Wednesday, The Economist and YouGov on January 8-10 asked 1,500 U.S. adult citizens a series of questions, including whether Santos should agree to calls for his immediate resignation.

The survey found that in total, 55 percent of respondents feel Santos should resign from Congress, including 45 percent of all Republicans surveyed. Around six in 10 citizens also feel that Santos should be investigated by the House Ethics Committee.

Respondents were also asked if Santos should be denied a committee assignment from Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, a scenario that the newly elected speaker has yet to rule out. Fifty-two percent of Republicans, along with 74 percent of Democrats, voted yes.

When asked if the House Ethics Committee should investigate Santos in light of his lies, 54 percent of Republicans and 79 percent of Democrats responded yes.

On Wednesday, leaders of the Nassau County Republican Party—whose county makes up part of Santos' congressional district—called on the disgraced congressman to immediately step down, saying "we do not consider him one of our congresspeople."

Two New York Democratic representatives also hand-delivered a complaint to the House Ethics Committee on Tuesday, claiming that Santos had potentially violated the federal Ethics in Government Act.

Other legal complaints have also been filed against the Santos. The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) announced on Monday that it had filed a complaint against Santos to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which includes allegations that he made false statements regarding the sources of his campaign's funding.

Despite the widespread backlash, some Republicans have come to Santos' aid, including Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who immediately pushed against calls for Santos to resign late last year. Santos serves as a key vote for House Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the chamber and struggled to garner the required votes from their own party to elect McCarthy as House speaker.

On Wednesday, Santos told ABC Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott that he "will not" step down, dodging additional questions from the media as he entered an elevator.

Santos also responded to calls for his resignation on Twitter Wednesday, writing, "I was elected to serve the people of #NY03 not the party & politicians, I remain committed to doing that and regret to hear that local officials refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living."

"I will NOT resign!" Santos added.

Newsweek has reached out to Santos and McCarthy for comment.