U.S. Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican whose lies about his background and wealth helped propel him into office, announced Monday that he's running for reelection.
More than perhaps any incumbent, Santos enters the race as an underdog — abandoned by many fellow Republicans while facing investigations over a myriad of allegations about falsehoods during his last campaign.
During that race, Santos portrayed himself as a graduate of prestigious colleges who had gone on to have a successful career on Wall Street while amassing a real estate investment portfolio. In reality, he didn't go to college, didn't work for the Wall Street firms where he claimed to have made big deals and had struggled in recent years to pay his rent.
In his campaign announcement, Santos didn't mention any of that and instead highlighted his zeal in fighting for conservative principals in Washington and his background as “a poor boy of immigrant parents in Queens.”
“We need a fighter who knows the district and can serve the people fearlessly,” he said.
Santos has previously referred to the fabrications about his background, which included lying about having Jewish ancestry and about having been a star volleyball player, as harmless embellishments.
Journalists have also uncovered other issues in his past, including criminal theft charges in Pennsylvania in 2017 and charges from years ago in Brazil, where he was accused of using a fraudulent check to buy apparel.
Despite those allegations, Santos refused calls from many fellow New York Republicans to resign.
Students, lawmakers and religious leaders have joined forces at a temple in Philadelphia to strongly denounce antisemitism on college campuses and in their communities, one day after University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned amid criticism over her testimony at a congressional hearing.
The former New York City mayor has already been found liable in the defamation lawsuit brought by Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who endured threats and harassment after they became the target of a conspiracy theory spread by Trump and his allies.
Donald Trump says he's decided against testifying for a second time at his New York civil fraud trial. In a social media post Sunday, the former president said he “very successfully & conclusively” testified last month and saw no need to appear again.
The president of Harvard University has apologized for her remarks at a congressional hearing on antisemitism, saying she got caught up in a heated exchange and failed to properly denounce threats of violence against Jewish students.
The House Education and Workforce Committee opened an investigation into MIT, the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University after an anti-Semitism hearing on Tuesday.
The son of North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer was charged with manslaughter and fleeing an officer after a police pursuit ended in a crash that killed the sheriff's deputy.
