Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), facing expulsion from the House of Representatives, put forth on Nov. 30 a resolution to expel Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) for pulling a fire alarm to allegedly obstruct a House proceeding.
The resolution is privileged and therefore will have to be voted on within two legislative days.
In September, Mr. Bowman activated a fire alarm, which delayed a House vote over a continuing resolution to fund the government through mid-November. Mr. Bowman pleaded guilty in October to a misdemeanor for pulling the fire alarm inside the Cannon House Office Building.
Mr. Santos lamented that had anyone else—for example, a member of the media or a GOP member of Congress—pulled a fire alarm on Capitol Hill, he or she would have been charged for obstructing a congressional hearing.
Mr. Santos announced this action during a press conference on Capitol Hill. Following his remarks, reporters asked questions about Mr. Santos’s time in Congress and none about Mr. Bowman.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Mr. Bowman’s office for comment.
This development 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.”
Past Expulsion Attempts
Mr. Santos, who in 2022 flipped the Democrat-held seat in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, previously 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,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Nov. 27. “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!”
Mr. Santos had already said he would not run for reelection.
“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 in a 213–179 vote. That measure was brought by New York GOP Reps. Marc Molinaro, Mike Lawler, Anthony D'Esposito, Brandon Williams, and Nick LaLota.
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 Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.).
Mr. Garcia and House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) have introduced privileged resolutions to expel Mr. Santos, thereby forcing a vote within two days. A House vote to expel Mr. Santos could come as soon as Nov. 30.
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.
