Washington — House to Vote on Expelling GOP Rep. George Santos
The House of Representatives will make another attempt this week to expel Republican Representative George Santos, who has been facing controversy. Democratic Representative Robert Garcia has initiated a resolution to remove Santos from office, stating that there is significant evidence of repeated lawbreaking by the New York Congressman. By introducing the resolution as "privileged," the House is obligated to hold a vote on it within two days.
Santos, who has strongly criticized the findings of the report as "slanderous," expressed his expectation of being expelled from Congress during an audio broadcast on X last Friday. He acknowledged the challenging math involved in securing the necessary two-thirds majority of House lawmakers to oust a member.
The Constitution mandates that a two-thirds majority of House lawmakers is required to remove a member from office.
Santos is currently facing 23 federal charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. In a 13-count indictment in May, it was alleged that Santos participated in a fraudulent political contribution scheme, fraudulently collected unemployment benefits, and filed false financial disclosures with the House. In October, a superseding indictment added 10 more charges.
Santos has managed to survive two attempts to remove him this year. The most recent attempt, led by a group of New York Republicans, fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. The first effort to expel him in May, led by Democrats, was blocked by Republicans and referred to the Ethics Committee for further investigation.
Before the Thanksgiving break, Rep. Michael Guest, the chairman of the Ethics Committee, introduced a resolution to expel Santos but did not bring it up as privileged.
