Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene lashed out at former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard after Gabbard called out New York Republican Representative-elect George Santos over his "blatant lies" during a Fox News interview.
Gabbard—who earlier this year left the Democratic Party and has taken on a new role as a Fox News commentator—questioned whether Santos has any "shame" now that he's facing calls to resign after admitting to “embellishing” his résumé in response to an extensive investigation by The New York Times that exposed multiple lies he told about his life story.
The soon-to-be legislator—whose election on Long Island last month helped Republicans secure a slim majority in the House of Representatives—was recalcitrant during his interview with Gabbard, reiterated he "campaigned on delivering results for the American people," and would be "happy" to sit down with Gabbard and "settle the score" on a conversation that would otherwise go "way above the heads of the American people."
An undeterred Gabbard said Santos "outright lied" about working at the financial firms Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and about graduating from college, saying his behavior "calls into question how your constituents and the American people can believe anything that you may say when you are standing on the floor of the House of Representatives supposedly fighting for them."
But Gabbard's criticisms angered the partisan Greene, who in a tweet accused her of falling in line with "her former colleagues" who are giving Santos "zero grace" for his lies and fabrications.
You can see Greene's defense of Santos' blatant lying here:
\u201cTulsi Gabbard, who says she is a former Democrat, gave Rep-elect George Santos zero grace, while George is admitting and apologizing for lying about his resume, just like her former colleagues are giving George zero grace & even demanding he resign.\n\n1/6\n\n\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1672195425
Greene claimed Santos "has not even had the chance to take action for his district on the House floor" because has not been sworn in yet and said Gabbard should not "lecture" Santos when she has previously supported reproductive rights, pushed back against the National Rifle Association (NRA) and backed an agenda to address climate change.
\u201cwhen he is standing on the House floor fighting for them.\n\nI too believe actions and words are extremely important, but I don\u2019t think a former Democrat who\u2019s actions on the House floor as recent as 2020 that gave her an A from Planned Parenthood, an F from the NRA, and\n\n3/6\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1672195425
\u201cintroduced a climate agenda signature piece of legislation called the OFF Act - designed to end all fossil fuels (the same as AOC\u2019s Green New Deal) should lecture a newly elected Republican member of congress on how he should vote to represent his Republican district.\n\n4/6\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1672195425
Greene suggested Gabbard is still aligned with Democrats because she "says words that sound conservative" but doesn't "take action to back them up," adding:
"I am glad she, like George, realized she made mistakes and was wrong every time she voted to support killing the unborn, taking away our gun rights, and legislated to kill America’s energy independence and the fossil fuel industry."
She concluded that Republicans should give Santos "a chance and see how he legislates and votes, not treat him the same as the left is."
\u201clegislated to kill America\u2019s energy independence and the fossil fuel industry.\n\nI hope Tulsi is sincere, just like I hope George is sincere.\n\nI think we Republicans should give George Santos a chance and see how he legislates and votes, not treat him the same as the left is.\n\n6/6\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1672195425
Gabbard's interview with Santos came in the wake of a Times exposé in which journalists Grace Ashford and Michael Gold reported that Santos "misrepresented a number of his career highlights" despite building his candidacy "on the notion that he was the 'full embodiment of the American dream' and was running to safeguard it for others."
A Times review of public documents and court filings from the United States and Brazil—where Santos, the son of Brazilian immigrants, spent some time—as well as "various attempts to verify claims" Santos made on the campaign trail, concluded that Santos had lied about everything from his education to his work history at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and even his source of income.
For instance, Santos claims he graduated from Baruch College but neither the Times nor a separate investigation by NPR could confirm this and the school told the latter outlet that it could find no match for a George Santos in its database. And while Santos has described himself as a “seasoned Wall Street financier and investor,” neither Citigroup nor Goldman Sachs had records of him working at their firms.
Santos—who claims to have been gay all his life and did not reveal during his campaign that he had divorced a woman in 2019—even said in one interview that four of his employees died in the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, claims that did not hold up under scrutiny.
And where Santos gets his income is still a mystery even though he reported a $750,000 salary and dividends of over $1 million from his company, the Devolder Organization, which doesn't appear to exist.
Greene was called out for her remarks by social media users who suggested she is openly defending a known liar just so Republicans could maintain their slim majority in the House.
\u201cBecause character and integrity are things you do not have nor do you care about. What matters to you is how they vote. You\u2019re pathetic\u201d— Hey Jo (@Hey Jo) 1672252503
\u201cNobody should be surprised @RepMTG is defending yet another fraud like Santos the same way she does Daddy Trump\n\nSAD\u201d— \ud83c\udf3b(~ \u00ac_\u00ac)~ Lyf_etc (@\ud83c\udf3b(~ \u00ac_\u00ac)~ Lyf_etc) 1672272206
\u201cI don\u2019t know the reason why Republicans don\u2019t want to face reality at any point in time. It\u2019s a good common sense for the Republican to stand up and tell Rep-elect Santos to resign honorably when the ovation is loud.\u201d— Azeez Muhammed (@Azeez Muhammed) 1672277064
\u201cMarge, you can deflect and blame all you want, but if this was a Democrat that lied, you all would be erecting the gallows again.\n\nGeorge didn\u2019t embellish, he lied about everything. The voters didn\u2019t vote for him, but for the person he claimed to be.\n\nThat does not restore faith.\u201d— Willy is free (@Willy is free) 1672235795
\u201cThis is not about any legal election technicality not about how many votes Kevin McCarthy needs. We cannot allow this man to go to congress Greene does not even comprehend the depth of this yet she is ready to move on & seat him my God what are we doing this is outrageous! INSANE\u201d— Adrian R. Leaks (@Adrian R. Leaks) 1672320089
\u201cHe deserves 0 grace and should not be seated in congress\u201d— Stand with Ukraine to preserve freedom\u262e\ufe0f (@Stand with Ukraine to preserve freedom\u262e\ufe0f) 1672270777
\u201cJust because of your party affiliation you shouldn't get any grace for being a fraud. God knows most of our politicians are complete frauds, dem and repub. It doesn't make it right to add another.\u201d— Mariner81 (@Mariner81) 1672257075
Last night, Long Island prosecutors confirmed they've opened an investigation into Santos for deceiving voters amid mounting questions about his fitness for federal office.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, a Republican, called Santos' lies "nothing short of stunning," adding that "residents of Nassau County and other parts of the third district must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress."
Santos had earlier fessed up to at least some of his lies in an interview with The New York Post, telling the conservative tabloid he is “embarrassed” by his false and misleading statements but that he nonetheless believes he will be an “effective” House Republican once the new Congress is seated in January.
The House could decline to seat Santos, an action that would trigger a special election in a district that had previously favored Democrats, though Republicans are more likely to deny Santos committee assignments than expel him outright.