Anna Paulina Luna, a newly elected Republican House member from Florida, has claimed she was raised as a Messianic Jew by her father, and that she has some Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. But according to a Washington Post investigation published Friday, several family members and friends have questioned many details about her life and background — including her religious upbringing — that she shared on the campaign trail.
Though the Post story focuses mostly on Luna’s political metamorphosis, and her assertion that she grew up poor and isolated from her extended family, it also delves into her account of her religious history.
While Luna’s mother backed up her claims that her father had adopted Messianic Judaism while in recovery for substance abuse, three other family members said he practiced Catholicism throughout his daughter’s childhood.
Luna’s father, George Mayerhofer, died in a car crash last year.
Revelations about Luna’s past comes as pressure continues to mount over claims made by another newly elected Republican. Rep. George Santos of Long Island made false claims about his wealth, schooling, work history and religious background — he falsely claimed that he is Jewish and that grandparents were Holocaust survivors. On Thursday, two Jewish House members and other Democratic colleagues filed a resolution calling for Santos’ expulsion.
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