This previously ran in our February 2023 issue. 

Republican George Santos — New York’s brand new 3rd Congressional District representative — is accused of lying about his resume, personal life, finances: even whether or not he is a drag queen. 

During his campaign, Santos claimed he had Ukrainian and Jewish heritage on his mother’s side, which he proudly displayed on his website. He said that his grandparents “fled persecution” during World War II, and that they had survived the Holocaust by fleeing to Brazil. 

However, these claims were debunked by family records that showed Santos did not hold Ukrainian or Jewish maternal heritage. His mother, now deceased, also continuously posted Catholic prayers and Easter celebrations on Facebook; Santos now states he is Catholic. 

Santos’ lies about his maternal family continued as he claimed 9/11 “took his mother’s life,” while later making a tweet on Dec. 23, 2021, stating it was the fifth anniversary of his mother’s passing — a fact confirmed by the obituary.  

However, Santos then tweeted on Dec. 23, 2023, “December 23rd this year marks 5 years since I lost my best friend and mentor. Mom you will live forever in my heart.” 

His lies also extend into his education, claiming he attended the ritzy Horace Mann High School in the Bronx before leaving due to family financial problems. However, there is no proof of Santos attending the school. Later, he stated he attended Baruch College, graduating with a degree in economics and finance, as well as receiving an M.B.A from New York University. He later admitted to The New York Post that he did not attend any university at all.  

After college, Santos claimed he worked at investment banking companies Citigroup and Goldman-Sachs, neither of which he worked for at any time. 

His lies do not stop at his education or personal life – according to drag queen Eula Rochard, Santos was a frequent drag performer and competed in several drag queen pageants as “Kitara Revache.” Santos, although denying these allegations, engaged in an online interaction with drag queen Trixie Mattel, known for her win on the television program RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars. 

While Santos says he only “embellished” his resume, 60 percent of the N.Y. Republicans in Congress have called for Santos’ resignation, but Santos has adamantly stated he will not resign from Congress; however, as of late, he has decided to temporarily step down from house committees. 

Emmaus students share opinions about Santos’ behavior.

Senior Kat Cordero agrees about Santos’ lies. 

“Until the point that he decided to become a politician he may not have seen those things as unprofessional, but I don’t know why he would lie about his mom in 9/11,” Cordero said. 

She also believes people should look further into their voting choices before going to the polls. 

“I think people should do way more research because if all that research had been done before, then the election may have gone differently,” Cordero said. 

Like Cordero, junior Adrianna Machik agrees about research before voting

“I mean, me personally, I would research, but anybody can vote so that’s kind of the point,” Machik said.

Students of Emmaus and voters nationwide may have similar — or sometimes opposing — opinions about politics, but the consensus seems to be that voters should consider who they are really voting for —  and maybe politicians should think about what they are saying before they say it.