Disgraced ex-U.S. Rep. George Santos says President-elect Donald Trump's choices for his next Cabinet are "phenomenal" — and calls it "f---ing hilarious" that critics contend some aren't qualified for the jobs.
The serial liar and convicted fraudster — who's facing up to 22 years in prison for scamming campaign donors, pandemic benefits and other crimes — also told the Daily Beast he hasn't asked Trump for a pardon.
Santos, who represented parts of New York City and Long Island for less than a single term before being expelled over a scathing Ethics Committee report, also said he would turn down the chance to to serve in Trump's Cabinet if asked.
"I think there's a lot of people with a lot better experience than me to shoulder Congress, to go do the job that the American people need," he said in a report published Saturday. "And that's why I think Matt Gaetz and Kristi Noem, these are phenomenal picks."
Gaetz, a firebrand conservative who spearheaded the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., quit his House seat on Thursday after Trump nominated the Florida Republican to be attorney general.
His resignation has been widely interpreted as an attempt to prevent the Ethics Committee from releasing a report on its investigation into allegations against him that include sexual misconduct and illegal drug use.
Noem, whom Trump tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security, is in her second term as the Republican governor of South Dakota and was widely condemned after revealing in a memoir that she fatally shot a pet puppy she deemed "untrainable."
During his profanity-laced interview with the Daily Beast, Santos, 36, blamed opposition to Trump's nominees on "Democrat trolls" who are "mad that [Vice President] Kamala [Harris] was shown the f---ing door. And now they are going to nitpick everything."
He added: "I think it's f---ing hilarious. Hilarious to watch the swamp struggle with the existential crisis that's been shoved in their faces by the American people. I love it."
Santos also noted: "I really dare senators not to confirm a single member of the Cabinet just so we know exactly who they are. And in two years, 'Buh Bye!'"
In 2026, 20 Republican senators and 13 Democrats will be up for reelection, with the GOP facing potentially tough contests in Maine, North Carolina and Iowa.
