January 3, 2023

Did George Santos Speak to a Living Human Today?

The loneliest boy on the House floor.

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

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The 118th Congress opened on Tuesday with dramatic questions. Would Kevin McCarthy suffer a historic, first-in-a-century defeat? If such a humiliating event were to happen—and it did—then how many rounds of voting would it take for a House speaker to finally emerge from the ashes of this political fire?

But personally, the most suspenseful moments so far have had nothing to do with the speakership. Instead, my tired eyes have only lit up whenever the cameras drifted over to George Santos, the Long Island Republican who was elected to Congress earlier this morning but has since faced intense intense scrutiny after it was revealed he faked much of his biography. In Congress so far, he’s appeared to spend most of his time on the floor furiously texting on his phone, probably to no one. It’s unclear if he ever spoke to any of his new colleagues, but my theory, more a guess really, is that he did not. When confronted with the people who did want to hear from him, Santos dodged.

I’m not one to normally poke fun at the lonely. But Santos, of course, is not a new kid on the first day of school here. The admitted liar stands out in a party full of them and is under at least two investigations in the United States for his fabricated resume and shady finances. Just yesterday, Brazillian authorities announced they intend to reopen an old case regarding Santos and a stolen checkbook. His apparent falsehoods touch on everything from 9/11 family deaths to being Jewish. Anyway, we’re about to get tortured with many more hours, perhaps even days, of House floor drama until someone clinches 218 votes. Here’s to hoping we get more shots of the most unpopular man in Congress.

Correction, January 4: George Santos has not yet been sworn in as a Congressman.

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