- Chris Giles
- BBC News
image copyright EPA
Santos says he will serve out his term in Congress.
Newly elected Republican congressman George Santos has apologized after admitting he lied about his education and work experience.
“My sin here is that I wanted to improve my resume,” Santos, who was elected in New York, told the New York Post. “I’m sorry.”
He insisted he was “not a criminal” and said the controversy over the matter would not prevent him from serving a two-year term in Congress.
The claim was first made in a New York Times report last week.
Santos’ lawyer responded at the time to allegations that he had not told the truth about where he attended university and his alleged employment history, describing the reaction as “defamation” and a “bomb attack”.
Santos said during his campaign that he worked for the prestigious Wall Street institutions Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
But he told the New York Post that he had “never worked directly” with either organisation, admitting that was a “poor choice of words”.
The 34-year-old congressman added that he actually worked at a company called LinkBridge, as vice president, working with both giant financial institutions.
He admitted that he did not attend college, despite previously claiming to have earned a degree from Baruch College in New York City in 2010.
“I did not graduate from any higher education institution. I am embarrassed and sorry that I have beautified my resume. I admit it… We do stupid things in life,” he said.
Santos, who was elected to Congress on November 8 to represent part of Long Island and Queens, took a seat previously held by Democrats, with Republicans winning overall with a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Congress.
His Democratic opponent, Robert Zimmerman, wrote on Twitter that Santos had admitted to being a liar and said the Justice Department should hold him accountable for his actions.
In a separate tweet, he suggested that Santos should “resign and run against me in a special election” and “confront voters with your true past.”
“I started a campaign to talk about people’s concerns, not my resume,” Santos told the New York Post. “I intend to fulfill the promises I made during the campaign.”
It is scheduled, as things stand, that Santos will be sworn in on January 3, along with the rest of the next batch in Congress.