Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) has introduced a measure to censure Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) for misleading statements the freshman congressman made during his 2022 campaign.
The measure, via an expedited process, would force a floor vote on the matter, bypassing committee votes, but seems unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled lower chamber.
Despite his considerable power over House process, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will be unable to stop the advancement of the measure to a floor vote unless the House Ethics Committee, which is currently investigating Mr. Santos, acts sooner.
The resolution notes that it’s not just Democrats criticizing Mr. Santos—several members of his own party, including from the New York State Republican delegation, have also called on Mr. Santos to step down.
In a press conference on the resolution, Mr. Torres said, “the time has come for Congress to speak with a single voice and to publicly censure George Santos, whose lies have gone unpunished.”
“Mr. Santos has systematically lied to the American people,” Mr. Torres said. “He’s lied about every facet of his life, his employment and educational background, his business and philanthropic endeavors, his ties to historical events like the Holocaust and 9/11 and the Pulse mass shooting.
“The breadth and depth of his deception is so staggering, that he cries out for congressional punishment,” Mr. Torres added, saying it was “the least that we can do to hold George Santos accountable.”
“Democrats on the other side of the aisle have completely lost focus on the work they should be doing. My record proves that my office is hard at work, serving constituents and crafting keen legislation,” Mr. Santos said.
“The Republican majority is also working hard to get the country back on track and clean up the mess left behind by destructive one-party Democrat rule. It is time to stop the political ping-pong and get real work done.”
Mr. Torres’s resolution is only the latest in a series of Democrat efforts to censure Mr. Santos.
A similar effort was undertaken and failed to advance in May when Mr. McCarthy referred the measure to the Ethics Committee for further action.
Mr. Torres said that despite promises that Mr. Santos would face punitive action within 60 days following this move, no further action on the measure has happened, prompting him to begin proceedings on the current motion.
The Charges
The resolution then lists a number of specific misleading comments that Mr. Santos is accused of having made.In one case, Mr. Santos allegedly “lied about being a member of the Jewish faith ... and deliberately misrepresented that his grandparents survived the Holocaust.”
In another case, Mr. Santos falsely claimed that his mother had died in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Mr.Santos also misrepresented his educational background, saying he had received a bachelor’s degree from Baruch College and a master’s degree from New York University. Both institutions have said that they have no record of Mr. Santos ever having attended the school.
Mr. Santos is also accused of having misrepresented later portions of his life, saying that after college, he worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup banks. Again, both say that those claims are false.
Other allegations include Mr. Santos’s claim that he founded an animal rescue charity that helped rescue more than 2,500 cats and dogs, the claim that four of his employees were killed in the Pulse Nightclub shooting and that he helped produce the Broadway Musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”
The resolution also notes that, contrary to his campaign claims of being a fulfillment of the American Dream, Mr. Santos fled Brazil during an active investigation into checkbook fraud the congressman reportedly committed, allegedly using a fake name and stolen checkbooks to make purchases.
Criticism
After the New York Times revealed in a story the misleading comments made by Mr. Santos, many members, including colleagues from his own state, called on him to resign.Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) was the first to call for Mr. Santos to step down, followed by Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.).
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), another freshman congressman, said in a statement that Mr. Santos had “lost the confidence and support of his party” and ”is unable to fulfill his duties and should resign.”
Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.) said in a statement that Mr. Santos was elected “in part due to his biographical exaggerations and apparent deceptions … He must resign.”
Separately, Mr. Santos was recently indicted and pleaded not guilty to 13 federal charges, including fraud related to COVID-19 unemployment benefits, embezzlement of campaign funds, and lying about personal finances on House disclosure reports.
If the House were to approve the measure, it would mean a public reading of the censure against Mr. Santos by Mr. McCarthy.
