Democrat Congressman Forces Vote to Expel Rep. Santos

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) casts his vote as the House of Representatives holds its second round of voting for a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 18, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) has proceeded to force a vote on a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from the House of Representatives.

Mr. Garcia filed a privileged resolution on Nov. 28 to move forward with a vote to expel Mr. Santos, who is under federal indictments and has admitted to making false statements ranging from his educational background to his work history.

“Resolved, that pursuant to article I, section 5, clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States, Rep. George Santos, be, and he hereby is, expelled from the House of Representatives,” said Mr. Garcia on the House floor.

The House must hold a vote within two days. The expulsion resolution requires the support of two-thirds of the House for passage.

The resolution comes weeks after the bipartisan House Ethics Committee released a report stating that Mr. Santos “knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct, ... and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act.”

Additionally, according to the report, Mr. Santos “continues to flout his statutory financial disclosure obligations and has failed to correct countless errors and omissions in his past FD Statements, despite being repeatedly reminded by the ISC and the Committee of his requirement to do so.”

While there are Republicans who have come out against Mr. Santos, there are some standing by his side.

“The Republican-controlled Congress has ousted a Republican Speaker and is now on the verge of expelling a not yet convicted Republican member, but we can’t even impeach Mayorkas or Biden or stop the weaponized DOJ against Trump and all their political enemies?” posted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on X, referring to the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as speaker. She has repeatedly called for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

In a statement, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) called the committee report “a level of public character assassination that I have not witnessed through 4 terms of Congressional service.”

House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) has filed a resolution to expel Mr. Santos. He was expected to make it privileged and force a vote. Whether he will proceed to do so now that Mr. Garcia has filed his own privileged resolution is to be determined.

The House Ethics Committee declined to comment.

Mr. Santos, who in 2022 flipped the Democrat-held seat in New York’s Third Congressional District, said that he will not resign.

“Setting the record straight, My conversation with the speaker was positive and I told him id be standing for the expulsion vote. Expel me and set the precedent so we can see who the judge, jury and executioners in Congress are. The American people deserve to know!” he posted on X on Nov. 27.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters on Nov. 27 that he had spoken with Mr. Santos.

“I’ve spoken to Congressman Santos at some length over the holiday and talked with him about his options,” said Mr. Johnson. “But we’ll have to see. It’s not yet determined, but we’ll be talking about that when we get back [to Congress] tomorrow.”

Regardless, Mr. Santos has already announced he will not run for re-election.

“I will remain steadfast in fighting for my rights and for defending my name in the face of adversity. I am humbled yet again and reminded that I am human and I have flaws, but I will not stand by as I am stoned by those who have flaws themselves,” he wrote on X on Nov. 16.

“I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking reelection for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time.”

There were two previous attempts to expel Mr. Santos, who is facing 23 federal charges.

The House defeated an expulsion resolution on Nov. 1, 179–213. That measure was brought by New York GOP Reps. Marc Molinaro, Mike Lawler, Anthony D'Esposito, Brandon Williams, and Nick LaLota.

“All you have to do is look at the lies and deceptions in the resolution and details of the indictments—multiple indictments—to see that Mr. Santos is a stain on this institution and not fit to serve in the House of Representatives,” said Mr. D'Esposito ahead of the vote.

In May, the House referred an expulsion resolution to the House Ethics Committee with a vote of 221–204, thereby punting on an actual expulsion vote. The resolution was introduced by Mr. Garcia.

In the 234-year history of the House, just five members have been expelled. The last time the House expelled a member was in 2002 when the lower congressional chamber ousted Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) after he was convicted on federal charges including tax evasion.