Embattled New York Rep. George Santos signaled he intends to run for reelection in 2024, filing paperwork on Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.
The statement of candidacy does not mean Santos, who is facing ethics and criminal inquiries, will run for reelection, but it does allow the first-term Republican congressman to raise money.
Santos was elected in November to represent parts of Long Island and Queens, flipping a Democratic seat that helped Republicans win a narrow majority in the House.
Since then his resume and biography have been under intense scrutiny and he has admitted to fabricating details of his life.
Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A formal ethics complaint was filed with the FEC in January accusing him of illegally using campaign funds for personal expenses, including for allegedly submitting false information about the source of his campaign donations and his campaign’s expenses. In the civil complaint, the Campaign Legal Center questioned how Santos was able to loan his campaign more than $700,000 during the 2022 election, while financial disclosure reports indicated he had only $55,000 to his name in 2020.
Santos’ statement of candidacy filed Tuesday says he does not intend to use personal funds for his potential bid.
The House Ethics Committee has also opened a formal investigation into Santos and federal and state investigators are looking into his finances and his work for a company that allegedly orchestrated a Ponzi scheme, as well as his alleged role in raising money for a veteran’s dying dog. Santos has denied any wrongdoing in those matters.
And last week, person familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News that the U.S. Secret Service has received and is reviewing a sworn declaration from a Brazilian man who alleged Rep. George Santos was “in charge of” a fraud scheme that led to the man’s arrest in 2017 for installing skimmers at a Seattle bank ATM.
He has dismissed calls to resign, but recused himself from serving on House committees. A majority of his constituents believed Santos should resign, according to a Newsday/Siena College poll taken in late January.
Nikole Killion contributed to this report.
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