The story of George Santos in American politics is a brief but remarkable chapter of deception, party loyalty, and ultimate disgrace. His career answers the question of his political affiliation definitively: George Santos was a Republican. He was a conservative figure whose short time in Congress was marked by alignment with the party’s far-right wing, before his house of cards, built on an astonishing web of lies, finally collapsed.
Santos first ran for New York’s 3rd Congressional District as a Republican in 2020, losing to the Democratic incumbent. He ran again in 2022 and won, flipping the seat from Democratic to Republican control and, in the process, becoming the first openly LGBTQ Republican elected to Congress as a freshman. His victory was quickly overshadowed by revelations that much of his life story was fabricated.
He admitted to lying about his education, claiming degrees from New York University and Baruch College that he never earned, and his employment history, falsely asserting he had worked for top Wall Street firms like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. These were not his only deceptions; he also made false claims about his family heritage, at one point even falsely stating his maternal grandparents fled the Holocaust.
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A Conservative Record and a Caucus of Allies
During his brief tenure, Santos’s political identity was firmly rooted in the right wing of the Republican Party. His actions in the House of Representatives and his choice of alliances signaled a clear move away from the mainstream. Through his staff hires and his public appearances with members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, Santos made it clear where his allegiances lay. He was frequently seen alongside polarizing Republican figures such as Representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
His voting record further cemented his conservative stance. He voted in line with Republican priorities such as the “Limit, Save, Grow Act” to raise the debt limit while cutting spending, the “Lower Energy Costs Act” to increase domestic energy production, and a resolution denouncing socialism. He also voted to remove fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy from the position of Speaker of the House.
Despite the growing cloud of scandal around him, he found some support within the MAGA (Make America Great Again) wing of the party. This alignment provided him with a degree of protection as he faced mounting calls for his resignation from other quarters.
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Expulsion, Conviction, and an Unexpected Reprieve
The consequences of Santos’s deception and criminal activity eventually caught up with him. Following an investigation by the House Ethics Committee and a federal indictment, the House of Representatives voted on December 1, 2023, to expel him. The vote was 311-114, with almost every Democrat and more than 100 Republicans voting to remove him. This made Santos just the sixth member in House history to be expelled and the first Republican.
The legal proceedings against him continued after his expulsion. In August 2024, Santos pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The charges stemmed from a scheme where he deceived donors and stole the identities of 11 people, including members of his own family, to funnel money to his campaign. In April 2025, he was sentenced to 87 months—more than seven years—in prison and began serving his term that July.
BREAKING: President Trump commutes George Santos’ sentence, sending him home from prison immediately.
“I signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!” pic.twitter.com/3FxipT10c4
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 17, 2025
In a dramatic turn of events, on October 17, 2025, President Donald Trump announced he was commuting Santos’s prison sentence, leading to his immediate release. In a social media post, Trump acknowledged Santos was a “rogue” but celebrated him as a strong supporter of the Republican Party, stating, “At least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” This act of clemency underlined the political nature of Santos’s story, closing his political saga with a final act of partisan loyalty.
