By John Riley on December 29, 2022 @JRileyMW
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has come to the defense of embattled Congressman-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.), accusing his left-wing critics of hating the 34-year-old because he’s a gay Republican.
Santos has come under scrutiny after admitting to the New York Post that he lied about or embellished parts of his résumé and biography when seeking the open 3rd Congressional District seat, which covers parts of Long Island and Queens.
Among his alleged fabrications were details of his work history, educational background, claims of having been a landlord despite not owning properties, claims of Jewish ancestry, and his links to tragedies like the Pulse nightclub massacre or the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
As a result of Santos’s fabrications — both admitted and alleged — Democrats have called on him to resign or for presumptive Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to refuse to seat him when Congress convenes on Jan. 3. Several critics have also demanded investigations into whether Santos violated ethical or campaign finance rules, gaining the attention of federal and state prosecutors.
But Greene came to Santos’s defense on Twitter earlier this week, asserting that the reason Santos is being attacked is due to his status as the sole out gay Republican in Congress.
“George Santos lied about his resume, and the left is demanding he resign,” Greene tweeted on Tuesday morning, before pivoting to attack untruthful Democrats.
“Ilhan Omar says she didn’t marry her brother, she lied. Elizabeth Warren said she was Native American Indian, she lied. The left said George Floyd didn’t die of a drug overdose, they lied,” the Georgia congresswoman tweeted.
George Santos lied about his resume, and the left is demanding he resign.
Ilhan Omar says she didn’t marry her brother, she lied.
Elizabeth Warren said she was Native American Indian, she lied.
The left said George Floyd didn’t die of a drug overdose, they lied.1/3
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 27, 2022
Her last assertion received some pushback online, as a toxicologist who testified at the trial of three former Minneapolis police officers accused of violating Floyd’s civil rights said that neither drug use nor heart disease contributed to Floyd’s death. According to Fox News, that expert concluded that Floyd “died from a lack of oxygen to his brain” and that he suffocated because his airway had been closed off due the position he was held in during his arrest.
But Greene wasn’t done attacking people on the Left with whom she disagrees.
“Dr. Rachel Levine says he’s a woman, he lied,” tweeted Greene. “Adam Schiff said he had proof of Trump Russian collusion, he lied. Eric Swalwell said he didn’t have sex with a CCP spy, he lied. Fauci said the taxpayer funded Covid-19 virus didn’t come from the Wuhan lab, he lied.”
“The science and medical ‘experts’ said the taxpayer funded COVID vaccines would stop COVID, they lied, they also said they are safe, they lied again. The Democrats, J6 committee, and media say Trump and us Republicans organized an insurrection on J6, they lied,” she continued.
She concluded: “The left doesn’t care about lying. The real reason they’re attacking George Santos is that he the first openly gay Republican elected and they hate him for it. I’m glad George is being honest with his district now and look forward to seeing how George legislates & votes.”
The left doesn’t care about lying.
The real reason they’re attacking George Santos is that he the first openly gay Republican elected and they hate him for it.
I’m glad George is being honest with his district now and look forward to seeing how George legislates & votes.
4/4
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 27, 2022
Later that evening, Santos appeared on Fox News and was interviewed by former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who spent much of the past election cycle bashing Democrats, and would presumably be a sympathetic interviewer. But by all accounts, the interview did not go well, with Gabbard — who was filling in for regular host Tucker Carlson — tearing into the congressman-elect and asking him, “Do you have no shame?”
In that interview, Santos lashed back at Gabbard, deflecting by pointing to lies told by Democrats in the political sphere.
“Tulsi, I can say the same thing about the Democrats,” he said. “Look at Joe Biden. Joe Biden has been lying to the American people for 40 years. He’s the president of the United States. Democrats resoundingly support him. Do they have no shame?”
Greene then leapt to Santos’s defense, launching another tweet thread.
“Tulsi 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,” Greene tweeted.
“Tulsi says that George’s actions on the House floor are what is most important, but George has not even had the chance to take action for his district on the House floor because he isn’t even sworn in yet. Tulsi also says how can his district believe anything he says when he is standing on the House floor fighting for them,” she continued, before bashing Gabbard’s voting record during her eight years in Congress.
“I do appreciate that Tulsi says words that sound conservative now even though she can’t take action to back them up. … I hope Tulsi is sincere, just like I hope George is sincere. I 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.”
legislated to kill America’s energy independence and the fossil fuel industry.
I hope Tulsi is sincere, just like I hope George is sincere.
I 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.
6/6
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 28, 2022
Some of Santos’s fellow New York Republicans have called on him to cooperate with any investigations and be forthright about his background and the allegations made against him.
Congressman-elect Nick LaLota, who was elected to represent parts of Long Island, cast the negative press regarding Santos’s background as a distraction.
“House Republicans like me are eager to be sworn in and focus on our Commitment to America and our respective districts. Yet, over the last few weeks I have heard from countless Long Islanders how deeply troubled they are by the headlines surrounding George Santos,” LaLota said in a statement. “As a Navy man who campaigned on restoring accountability and integrity to our government, I believe a full investigation by the House Ethics Committee and, if necessary, law enforcement, is required.”
Congressman-elect Anthony D’Esposito, who also represents parts of Long Island, condemned Santos’s false statements and called on him to “pursue a path of honesty,” reports CNN. Similarly, Congressman-elect Mike Lawler, who represents the Hudson Valley region just north of New York City, urged Santos to cooperate with investigations and apologize for his falsehoods, saying that seeking to downplay his actions is “only making things worse.”
Santos’s actions have led some prosecutors to take a second look at his finances and into whether he had broken any campaign finance laws. According to CBS News, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has launched a probe into his financial disclosure filings, as well as his purported net worth and the genesis of loans totaling more than $700,000 that he made to his 2022 campaign.
By John Riley on April 17, 2025 @JRileyMW
"I love people," says Becca Balint. "I love getting to know them. I love figuring out what makes them tick. I love laughing with them.... I love people, and I get energy from them."
The U.S. Representative from Vermont is definitely a people person: personable, gregarious, cheerful, and willing to engage in conversation, whether it's about serious, pressing political issues or more informal interactions, like cooing over her communication director's pet dog, who briefly appeared on screen during the first minutes of our Zoom interview.
Born on a U.S. Army base in Heidelberg, West Germany, Balint, the daughter of a service member who was himself an immigrant from post-World War II Hungary, lived briefly abroad before moving stateside to Peekskill, New York.
By John Riley on April 1, 2025 @JRileyMW
U.S. Rep. Becca Balint has introduced a bill to protect and expand access to gender-affirming care for transgender individuals at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to restrict the practice.
The Vermont Democrat's bill -- the Transgender Health Care Access Act -- establishes grants to support medical education programs and professional training in transition-related care, and to expand access to such services in rural communities.
She introduced the bill on March 31, coinciding with Transgender Day of Visibility.
The congresswoman noted in a news release that in a survey of students at 10 medical schools, nearly 4 in 5 students did not feel competent at treating transgender patients suffering from gender dysphoria.
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