Rep.-elect George Santos has received an awkward welcome to Washington so far. The newly elected New York congressman, who has been embattled in scandal over his fabricated resume, appears to have received the cold shoulder from many of his GOP colleagues throughout the tumultuous House speaker race.
On the first day of voting, Santos was seen sitting by himself toward the back of the chamber on his phone while a group of New York Republicans chatted nearby. Santos will represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District once sworn into office.
Later that day, a group of GOP lawmakers from New York took a picture with Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy with the caption ‘New York is in the House!’ in which Santos was noticeably absent.
At one point on Wednesday as voting entered its second day, Twitter users circulated a photo of Santos appearing to hover in the background of a conversation between Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and a group of GOP lawmakers.
Throughout day two of voting, Santos was noticeably absent on the House floor and out of view of cameras, exiting to the cloakroom and reappearing to cast his vote for McCarthy, according to multiple reports. At one point, Santos even missed casting his vote, appearing to mishear his named called twice during voting.
The vote for speaker has dragged on two days, entering its sixth vote Wednesday afternoon as Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy failed to earn the 218 votes needed to win the speakership. Members will gather again Thursday to commence the seventh round of voting.
This is the first time in over a century that a speakership vote has advanced beyond the first ballot.
Santos has admitted to speaking falsely about both his work experience and his education during his successful campaign to flip his Long Island congressional district for Republicans in November.
During his campaign, he falsely claimed he graduated from college with degrees in finance and worked for Goldman Sachs and Citibank. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly opened an investigation into Santos last week.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.