Santos skips White House event for new members

President Biden on Tuesday evening hosted Democratic and Republican new members of Congress for a reception at the White House, but embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) did not attend.

The reception in the East Room of the White House was scheduled to begin at 5:20 p.m., and Santos was not listed on the White House’s list of expected attendees.

Santos, like all new members, was invited, as is tradition every two years.

Santos has faced a controversial start to his time in Congress, coming under fire for lying about his personal and work history and facing questions about his campaign finances.

He has rebuked calls to resign from a growing number of members of Congress.

Four other first-term Republican House members skipped the event, while 10 were listed as attendees, including Santos’s fellow New York Republican Reps. Nick Langworthy and Mike Lawler.

The other Republicans listed as attendees were Reps. John James (Mich.), Mark Alford (Mo.), John Duarte (Calif.), Tom Kean (N.J.), Kevin Kiley (Calif.), Nathaniel Moran (Texas), Dale Strong (Ala.) and Rudy Yakym (Ind.). Alford and Moran did not end up attending.

The only first-term Republican senator listed as an attendee was Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.). Britt replaced Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), with whom Biden had a cordial working relationship after serving for years in the Senate together. 

The other first-term Republican senators — Eric Schmitt (Mo.), Ted Budd (N.C.), J.D. Vance (Ohio), and Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) — were not listed as attendees.

Thirty-three Democrats were expected to attend, including Rep. Maxwell Frost (N.Y.), the first Gen Z member; Rep. Jonathan Jackson (Ill.), the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson; Rep. Rob Menendez (N.J.), the son of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.); and Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), who beat former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).

Updated 4:30 p.m.