George Santos Finds Himself in Good Company on Capitol Hill

Speaker McCarthy is getting a new headache with a report detailing the embellishments in the resume of another freshman congressman, Andy Ogles, suggesting he has taken a page out of the Representative George Santos playbook.In November, Mr. Ogles was swept to victory, carrying 56 percent of the vote in Tennessee’s fifth district, which covers parts of southern Nashville and central Tennessee.Now, he is facing scrutiny from a local outlet, News Channel 5 Nashville, for potentially misleading voters about his education and history in law enforcement on the campaign trail, according to the report.Repeatedly, Mr. Ogles claimed to be an economist trained at Middle Tennessee State University, to have worked in law enforcement, and to be an expert on human trafficking.In terms of education, the investigation was able to confirm only that between 1990 and 1993, Mr. Ogles studied English and Allied Language Arts at Western Kentucky University.Although Mr. Ogles did return to school at Middle Tennessee University, he requested to have the release of his records blocked.A resume of Mr. Ogles’s obtained by News Channel 5 Nashville also shows that he listed his major at Middle Tennessee University as international relations, not economics. He reportedly minored in psychology and English. In a 2002 campaign to represent the state’s fourth district, Mr. Ogles also claimed to have studied “foreign policy and the constitution” at Middle Tennessee State University, not economics.Beyond potentially embellishing his education status, Mr. Ogles also appears to have exaggerated his experience in law enforcement and human trafficking.Although he was sworn in as a reserve deputy sheriff at Williamson County in 2009, NewsChannel 5 reports that two years later he was discharged for failing to meet the minimum requirements for the position and making “no progress in Field Training.”“There is nothing in Mr. Ogles’ training or personnel file that indicates he had any involvement in ‘international sex trafficking’ in his capacity as a reserve deputy,” a Williamson County sheriff’s spokeswoman, Sharon Puckett, told NewsChannel 5.Mr. Ogles also claimed to have been the chief operating officer at Abolition International, a nonprofit aimed at addressing human trafficking. Tax forms from the nonprofit show that Mr. Ogles only held a part time position there and collected some $4,000 for his work.Mr. Ogles has drawn comparisons to Mr. Santos, who also made false claims about his professional and personal history, though Mr. Ogles’s fabrications appear to be less extensive and sensational than Mr. Santos’s.Mr. Ogles is also the third representative to have his or her personal biography called into question since taking office, with a report from the Washington Post questioning portions of the personal history of a Florida Republican congresswoman, Anna Paulina Luna.The Post’s report focused largely on Ms. Luna’s story of a home invasion, which appears to have been exaggerated, as well as Ms. Luna’s changing relationship with her Hispanic heritage over the decade before she ran for office.Ms. Luna’s office maintains that the questions are “bizarre” and refused to answer further questions from the Post on the topic.So far, only Mr. Santos is expected to face an investigation into his conduct by the House Ethics Committee and from the Federal Elections Commission, due to potential campaign finance violations.Although Mr. Ogles has not yet faced widespread calls to resign from constituents or elected officials, his situation draws attention to the GOP’s slim majority in the House.If Messrs. Ogles and Santos were to be ousted or resign, Republicans would find themselves with an even slimmer margin.Beyond the majority, the resignation of the two representatives could leave Speaker McCarthy with even less leverage over his conference, and potentially make it easier for disgruntled members to oust him from his position.While Mr. Santos supported Mr. McCarthy on every ballot, Mr. Ogles initially did not support Mr. McCarthy for the speakership. In the 12th round of voting he switched his vote to support Mr. McCarthy.Mr. Ogles’s office has not responded to a request for comment and a press representative for Ms. Luna did not immediately reply to an inquiry from the Sun.

George Santos Finds Himself in Good Company on Capitol Hill

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