House Ethics chairman introduces resolution to expel George Santos from Congress
Rep. George Santos stands alone at the back of the House chamber during a second round of voting at the US Capitol in Washington
House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, a Mississippi Republican, introduced a resolution Friday to expel GOP Rep. George Santos of New York from Congress, one day after the Ethics Committee released a damning report on its investigation into Santos.
Lawmakers are expected to address the resolution at the end of the month once they return from the Thanksgiving holiday.
Santos has survived previous attempts to oust him from the House, but there is growing momentum for this latest effort. Following the ethics investigation, a number of Republicans who had previously not backed expulsion indicated that they would now vote in favor.
Expulsion is exceedingly rare and requires a two-thirds majority vote in the House to succeed. So far, 13 GOP lawmakers have come out in support of expelling Santos since the report was released, and that number is expected to grow in the days ahead.
In its report, the Ethics Committee said it uncovered additional “uncharged and unlawful conduct” by Santos that go beyond the criminal allegations already pending against him, and would immediately refer the allegations to the Justice Department for further investigation. The committee concluded that Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”
Santos, who has only been in Congress since January, announced that he will not seek reelection following the release of the committee’s report, though he remained defiant and denounced the investigation, calling it a “biased report.”
Santos has also pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports.
In early November, a Republican-led effort to expel Santos failed. A number of lawmakers had expressed concern over the prospect of expelling a member facing an as-yet unfinished legal battle and absent a criminal conviction. Ahead of the vote, Santos defended his right to “the presumption of innocence.”
In May, the House voted to refer a Democrat-led resolution to expel Santos to the Ethics Committee.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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