George Santos Reveals What It Will Take for Him to Resign

As the George Santos story just continues to get wilder, the just-sworn-in congressman from New York finally offered to resign, under very specific circumstances. The representative initially told NBC News Thursday, "if 142 people ask for me to resign, I will resign." But his fellow Republican lawmaker, Matt Gaetz, later interviewed him on Steve Bannon's podcast, and Santos clarified that, first of all, he meant 142,000, not 142. And second of all, he was referring to a very specific 142,000 people: those who voted to elect him in the first place. He'll stay in Congress, he told Gaetz, "until those same 142,000 people tell me they don't want me."

Meanwhile, as the New York Times reports, House Republican leaders are showing no signs of dropping their support of Santos. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters Thursday he wouldn't be penalizing Santos in any way for all the incorrect background info he gave during his campaign, though he did concede that Santos has "a long way to go to earn trust" and probably wouldn't end up with any "top secret" information in his hands. Other top Republicans in the House echoed that attitude. Local Republicans, however, are upset that after the GOP experienced a resurgence in the state, Santos is threatening their reputation; most of them have called on him to resign. (More George Santos stories.)