House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) this weekend confessed that he’d welcome former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) back to Congress with open arms if he ran for a seat again and won.
Santos, a serial fabulist who was serving a seven-year prison sentence for defrauding campaign donors, was granted clemency by President Donald Trump on Friday, sparking widespread outrage.
On Sunday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Johnson if Santos would be welcomed back. “Well, of course,” Johnson replied, unequivocally. “I mean, that’s our system. If the people duly elect a representative, then we will welcome them into the body. That would be the job of a speaker.”
The admission sparked anger over a possible Santos return to Congress.
It also prompted critics to point out how Johnson has so far refused to seat Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) over, Democrats allege, her support for a measure that could move toward the release of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a onetime close associate of Trump.
On Santos, though, Johnson claimed that “if someone’s turned their life around and they want to do the right thing, then we should be open to that.”