Dec. 1 (UPI) — Republican Rep. George Santos faces an expulsion vote on Friday that threatens to remove him from Congress as he faces federal fraud charges and a scathing House Ethics Committee report.
The resolution to eject Santos, R-N.Y., was scheduled for a vote on the House floor as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seek to boot the freshman congressman after the investigation by the House Ethics Committee that determined he “violated federal criminal laws.”
The upcoming vote marks the third attempt to oust Santos less than one year into his term.
If the measure passes, Santos, 35, would become the first lawmaker to be ousted in the House in more than two decades after a superseding indictment in October charged him with wire fraud, false statements, falsifying records, identity theft and access device fraud as he was accused of taking part in a credit card scheme that repeatedly charged the accounts of campaign contributors. Santos pleaded not guilty to those charges and a trial is set for September 2024.
Previously, Santos pleaded not guilty in May to more than a dozen charges, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making false statements to the House of Representatives.
Santos has remained defiant as the scandal unfolded, refusing to resign under pressure from his colleagues while continuing to proclaim his innocence. He, however, said he would not seek re-election following the release of the ethics report.
“Every member expelled in history of this institution has been convicted of crimes or Confederate turncoats guilty of treason. Neither those apply to me, but here we are,” Santos said on the House floor Thursday. “On what basis does this body feel that precedent must be changed for me — an American citizen, duly elected, elected to represent the 3rd District of New York?
“I have been convicted of no crimes, Mr. Speaker.”
The ballot to remove Santos comes after a tumultuous 11-month tenure in which the Long Island Republican came under immediate fire for exaggerating his net worth by millions of dollars while it was also found that he made numerous false claims to boost his persona, leading to a public apology for lying about his academic and professional background.
The vote to remove him marks only the sixth time a House lawmaker has faced removal since Congress was established in 1789.
It’s also the third such vote in the House since the Civil War and the first instance of a Republican legislator being expelled without prior criminal conviction in modern times.
The ethics panel, meanwhile, found Santos misused campaign funds for personal expenses, including vacations, beauty enhancements, and a subscription to the adult website OnlyFans, among many other alleged misdeeds.
Santos has so far managed to survive two other votes to remove him. In May, the Republican-led chamber voted 221-204 along party lines to send a Democratic resolution to expel him to the House Ethics Committee and a second vote in November failed by a vote of 179-213.
A vote by two-thirds majority of the House chamber is required to remove Santos and some of the 31 Democrats who previously voted to keep Santos are now on board to remove him following the release of the ethics report, meaning Santos is not likely to keep his seat.
“I am more comfortable now that there’s an internal investigation, internal due process, and the fact that they decided to actually release all the evidence, release their findings, was extraordinary,” said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., who opposed ousting Santos just weeks ago, but now supported the move.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., previously expressed “real reservations” about expelling the Long Island Republican, while the leader noted he was “concerned about a precedent that may be set” considering Santos was not yet convicted — a sentiment shared this week by several GOP lawmakers who say removing Santos would override the will of New York voters.
“This thing, in my view, could be easily weaponized by some future Speaker who is not nearly as principled as Mike Johnson,” said Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who opposes expelling Santos. “I just think it’s a terrible precedent to set.”
Johnson indicated he would remain neutral in the lead-up to the vote and wouldn’t try to pressure members to shield Santos based on mounting concerns over precedent, adding that he wanted everyone in the body “to vote their conscience.”
Some Democrats accused Republicans of wanting to keep Santos in office to maintain their slim majority in the House by any means.
“Do you think for any minute, if Republicans had a 25-seat majority, they would care about George Santos’ vote?” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., who serves as chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
During a Thursday news conference on the Capitol steps, Santos denounced the latest effort to remove him, saying of his colleagues: “This will haunt them in the future where mere allegations are sufficient to have members removed from Congress when duly elected by their people in their respective states and districts,” Santos told reporters.
“This is bullying. It’s all theater. It’s theater for the cameras. It’s theater for the microphones and theater for the American people.”
He also on Thursday introduced a resolution to expel Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., after he pleaded guilty in October to a misdemeanor charge of setting off a fire alarm inside an office building in the Capitol.
