A former firefighter who was a first responder at ground zero after 9/11 will accompany Rep. George Santos (R-NY) to President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening. Santos’ invitation to Michael Weinstock came just weeks after Santos was accused of falsely claiming his mother died in the 9/11 attacks, just one in a series of many lies the congressman has been caught in. Immigration records show his mother was not even in the country at the time of the attacks, and her obituary states she died in 2016. Weinstock, who is now a lawyer, told The New York Times he accepted the invitation in order to raise awareness for emergency workers like him suffering serious health conditions related to their work. However, the move has not come without consequences, Weinstock said, telling the Times his law firm fired him for accepting Santos’ invitation. This will not be Weinstock’s first foray into the political world: He previously ran as a Democrat for the seat Santos currently holds.