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George Santos signs onto abortion, guns, term limits, and impeachment bills as he attempts to make friends on Capitol Hill

Republican Rep. George Santos of New York on the floor of the House during the speaker votes on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.
Republican Rep. George Santos of New York on the floor of the House during the speaker votes on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
  • Freshman Rep. George Santos is still finding his way on Capitol Hill after a rough start.

  • The scandal-plagued Republican is relationship building by cosponsoring red meat bills.

  • His legislative buddies range from MAGA diehards to colleagues who've demanded he resign.

Embattled Rep. George Santos is hustling to make friends in Washington.

The scandal-plagued Republican freshman has cozied up to conservative bomb-throwers like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado and taken to taunting foes of the far right, such as Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and President Joe Biden.

He's also exploring an old school way of forging alliances – cosponsoring legislation.

In his first off-the-rails month on Capitol Hill, Santos has signed onto bills dealing with abortion rights, guns, the global social media phenomenon TikTok, congressional term limits, and even articles of impeachment.

An Insider analysis of the 10 proposals Santos has endorsed so far this term reveals that he's finding legislative allies, including a mix of Trump acolytes, far-right House Freedom Caucus members, and other Kevin McCarthy speaker vote rebels, and 2020 election deniers.

"I'm a legislator just like everyone else here," he said as a swarm of reporters surrounded him at the Capitol and one asked how he views his role. But when Insider asked to talk to him about legislation, he recoiled. "No, no, no, sorry," he responded.

Santos has faced calls to resign from members of his party and home state delegation over the snowballing lies about his resume and investigations into his campaign finances.

But he doesn't appear to be leaving.

His staff is undoubtedly fielding an assortment of questions about Santos' personal life and campaign issues. But a staffer said the team was concentrating on the "busy legislative week ahead" when Insider asked if they would like to comment on a drag artist's portrayal of how Santos lost the Miss Gay Rio De Janeiro beauty pageant.

"No, we are not commenting on this because we just want to get to work," the staffer said.

Rather than bowing out, Santos is leaning into legislation to kick others out of Washington. He signed onto bills promoting term limits and calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a top priority for the MAGA wing.

Santos hasn't introduced his own legislation yet. So far he has only played a supporting role.

He's on board with two proposals by Rep. Ralph Norman, the South Carolina Republican who once pulled out a loaded gun while meeting with constituents at a diner to make a point about gun violence. Norman is pushing measures to impose term limits on members of Congress and boost reporting of abortions to federal authorities.

"The congressman seeks to work with everyone, and has developed relationships with Republican members, as well as those across the aisle," a Santos spokesperson said.

Santos appears to be most ideologically aligned with Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois who has also signed on to seven of the 10 measures Santos cosponsored, including anti-abortion, pro-gun, and anti-TikTok measures. While speaking with Trump at a rally in June, Miller made headlines for calling the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade a "victory for white life," though her spokesperson said she meant to say "right to life."

Santos' name is on three bills with fellow New Yorker, House GOP Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has been criticized for endorsing and raising money for him.

Santos has also cosponsored legislation with four freshmen from his home state who've called for him to resign, including Reps. Nick Langworthy (three bills), Nick LaLota (two bills), Brandon Williams (two bills), and Anthony D'Esposito (one bill).

Standouts within the dozen members who've cosponsored four bills with Santos include House speaker vote rebels Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Andy Biggs of Arizona, as well as fellow freshman Rep. Monica De La Cruz of Texas.

His only overlap with members across the aisle comes from Florida Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Darren Soto lending their support to an anti-Maduro regime bill. Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida introduced that legislation to block Americans from doing business with Venezuela.

Read the original article on Business Insider