Politicians lie; it’s a universal truth, albeit an ugly one.

Dating back to the beginnings of the United States, the hope for a nation built on justice has been warped more and more every year. 

Time and time again, it seems as if every election leads to even more frustration from American citizens. 

Lying almost seems to be normalized and expected in our society, as the release of a new exposé doesn’t really come as a surprise anymore. 

Which brings up the question, how far is too far? 

Where do we, as a society, draw the line for how much dishonestly we’re willing to accept?

Voters need to wake up, stop blindly believing politicians, and vote for honest candidates; if not, more dishonest legislators will be elected to our government, 

Recently, one case of a fraudulent politician elected to Congress has taken the United States by storm. 

Representative George Santos has received belligerent calls for his resignation, from both Republicans and Democrats alike- only days after being sworn into Congress on January 7th. 

Santos, a Republican politician, currently represents New York’s 3rd district, consisting of parts of Long Island and Queens. 

Representative Santos built his campaign on safeguarding the American dream, claiming that he was the embodiment of this idea. 

Santos made history in November of 2022 as the first openly gay Republican elected to the House of Representatives.

However, following his election to office in November, countless news outlets began investigating the claims he made publicly, on his resumé, and in his self-reported biography.

It seems that Santos has fabricated everything about his past, completely diminishing the trust between the American public and himself. 

The real question is: how were Santos’s lies not caught before these mass investigations began?

Normally, the campaigning team of a political candidate performs opposition research to delve into the background of whomever they are running against; opposition research is done to weaken or discredit their opposition and boost support. 

“It’s my understanding that the opposition research [on Santos] was done really quickly. And there was information there that indicated that there were some problems, but it was kind of buried,” said Government Teacher Karin Cummings. 

But, why are voters so willing to let dishonesty get buried?

With the political strife surrounding the election of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, it is understandable how Santos’s dishonesty was swept under the rug for so long. 

Since the Republican majority in the House is so slim, it is unlikely that Santos will face any punishment from his party. 

Republicans are struggling to hold onto the slim lead they have over the Democratic Party, so it is likely that Santos will continue to serve his two-year term. 

Santos represents the Republican Party, so his vote is all that matters in the perpetual game of tug-of-war between both parties. 

Regardless, it is quite appalling that Santos wasn’t exposed for his lies any sooner. 

With each passing day, it seems that only more inaccuracy is revealed about every aspect of Santos’s life. 

Prior to his career in politics, Santos claimed to attend Baruch College and New York University in New York, earning a degree in economics and finance.

According to the New York Times, both Baruch College and NYU have revealed no record of Santos’s attendance to the college, indicating that he fabricated his claim about having a higher education. 

Santos even admitted to the embellishment of his resumé in December 2022, after winning his election in November. 

 “I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my résumé … we do stupid things in life,” Santos said to the New York Post. 

Not only has Santos lied about his education, but his career prior to becoming a politician also seems to be a mystery.

Santos claimed to have become a “seasoned Wall Street financier and investor” directly out of college, working with two Wall Street firms: Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. 

Both firms disclosed to the New York Times that they had no record of Santos’s employment there.

Additionally, the validity of Santos’s animal rescue charity, Friends of Pets United, has also been called into question.

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), they were unable to locate a record under that charity name; furthermore, Santos has allegedly embezzled funds from his charity and refused to give money to the families in need. 

Accompanying the embellishment of his professional resumé, Santos has told ridiculous lies simply to make himself look better. 

“It’s almost like he’s just lying for the thrill of it,” said Government Teacher Joyce Baird. 

For example, Santos has lied about being a star volleyball player at Baruch College, claiming that he underwent double knee replacement surgery.

“[Republican and Democrat Parties] should have checked him out, because there’s got to be people that know the truth about him. He wasn’t a college volleyball player, and all these things he said,” said Baird.

Furthermore, Santos has lied about having Jewish grandparents that fled the Holocaust, as well as having employees that died in 9/11 and other relatives in the Pulse Nightclub Shooting of 2016. 

“These stories are just beyond normal… this is lying on a whole different scale,” said Baird. 

With the division of Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives, it is unlikely that Santos will resign or be forced to resign. 

Santos claims that if 142,000 New York voters ask him to resign, then he will step down.

However, it is unlikely that this will actually happen due to the division among the House of Representatives.

“Since the Republican majority is so slim in the House, Republicans need every single vote… Kevin McCarthy really can’t afford to lose [Santos’s] vote at this point,” said Cummings.

Regardless of what happens in Santos’s term, history was made, and it will surely serve as a lesson to both Republicans and Democrats. 

Here are a few additional topics that Santos is under scrutiny for:

• Claimed to have attended Horace Mann Private High School
• He apparently acted in Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
  • Co-Starred in The Invasion with Uma Thurman
• Claimed to be the target of an assassination attempt
• Was exposed for being a drag queen in Brazil