George Santos admits ‘personal’ loans to campaign were not from personal funds

In a new twist to one of the most bizarre American political scandals in decades, the New York Republican congressman George Santos appeared to admit on Tuesday that more than $600,000 in loans to his campaign did not come from personal funds, as was originally claimed.

But new campaign finance filings first reported by the Daily Beast did not shed light on where the funds actually came from.

One expert said he had "never been this confused" by a campaign finance form.

Santos, 34, won election to Congress last year in New York's third district, which covers parts of Long Island and Queens.

But he swiftly came under pressure over a résumé which has been shown to be largely made-up; local, state, federal and international investigations; and increasingly picaresque allegations and revelations including an alleged past as a drag queen in Brazil.

Republican House leaders have stood by him, however, not least because he supported Kevin McCarthy through 15 rounds of voting for speaker earlier this month, a process which installed the Californian atop a slim GOP majority prey to hard-right rebels. Last week, Santos was installed on two House committees.

As well as joining New York Republicans in calling for Santos to quit, Democrats have demanded investigation of Santos's campaign finance filings.