It was recently revealed, after he was elected, that George Santos, a United States Congressman representing New York’s 3rd district, has falsified much of his own history. His claim to be the “embodiment of the American dream,” is only true if the American dream is getting a job you’re completely unqualified for, which I guess it is. Santos’ position in the government after he was exposed is indicative of the increasing division between parties, and the lengths politicians will go to so their party stays in power.

What exactly did he lie about?

• Santos claimed to be an alumnus of Baruch college, but the college has no record of someone by his name attending.
• Santos claimed to have worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, both Wall Street firms, neither of which have any record of his employment there.
• Friends of Pets United, Santos’ animal rescue group, was not able to be located as an official charity by The International Revenue Service.
• The multiple properties Santos said he owned were most likely fabrications, as no record of them could be found, and he lived in his sister’s house.
• Santos’ website said that he was Jewish, though he clarified that he meant “Jew-ish,” whatever that means.
• Santos said he has never been in legal trouble, but had a run-in with the law in Brazil, and was charged with using someone else’s checkbook.
• Santos has claimed that he attended the January 6th rally, (not the riot), but has since dodged questions about his involvement.

So, other than being straight out of a political satire, why does this matter?

Despite my love of comedy, George Santos and his position are more concerning than I would like them to be. Santos still holding a position of power means that politicians care more about having a majority than preserving the integrity of the government, which most of us already knew, but this just solidifies the claim.

This time, the manipulation that Santos took part in, and is now corroborated by other Congressmen, isn’t hidden at all. Members of his party don’t seem to care whether he lied, or whether voters know they know that he lied, which is dangerously close to becoming undemocratic, because democracies should rely on the voter’s opinions. Despite their refusal to boot him from Congress, Santos will not be allowed clearance to access top-secret documents, proving members of his own party know he is unreliable and untrustworthy.

While expulsions from Congress are possible, it does not seem like Santos is headed down that path. Calls for his resignation are landing on deaf ears, and it appears as though Congress is content with their new resident conman.