WASHINGTON (AP) — Representative-elect George Santos, RN.Y., admitted Monday that he lied about his work experience and college education during his successful campaign for a seat in the U.S. House.
In an interview with the New York Post, Santos said, “My sins here grace my resume. I am sorry.”
He also told the paper: ‘I campaigned about people’s concerns, not my CV’ and added: ‘I intend to deliver on the promises I made during the campaign.’
The New York Times asked questions last week about the life story Santos, 34, presented during his campaign.
The Queens resident had said he graduated from Baruch College in New York, but the school said it could not be confirmed.
Santos admitted on Monday: “I have not graduated from any higher education institution. I am embarrassed and sorry for embellishing my resume.
He added: “I recognize that. … We do stupid things in life.
Santos had also claimed to have worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, but neither company could find any documents to prove it.
Santos told the Post he had “never worked directly” for either financial firm, saying he used a “poor choice of words.”
He told the Post that Link Bridge, an investment firm where he was a vice president, does business with the two.
Another media outlet, American Jewish site The Forward, had questioned a claim on Santos’ campaign website that his grandparents “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium and re-emerged”.
“I’ve never claimed to be Jewish,” Santos told the Post. “I am Catholic. Since I learned that my maternal family was of Jewish origin, I said that I was “Jew”.
Santos first ran for Congress in 2020 and lost. He raced again in 2022 and won in the district that includes some suburbs of Long Island and a small portion of Queens.
The Associated Press
