House Democrats Push To Expel Santos From Congress

Topline

Five House Democrats introduced a resolution on Thursday to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from Congress, calling him a “serial fraudster” amid growing revelations that Santos has lied about nearly every aspect of his résumé, leading to bipartisan calls for his resignation.

A pouting Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) and other Republicans gather in the House Chamber before … [+] President Joe Biden arrives to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

Key Facts

Santos’ fellow LGBTQ freshman congress members, Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.) and Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), along with Reps. Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman, both Democrats from New York, filed the resolution on Thursday.

The members rebuked Santos in a press conference Thursday over a multitude of claims he’s made that have been cast into doubt by contradicting evidence, including his story that he “lost” four employees in the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in Orlando in 2016, which left 49 people dead and 53 more wounded.

After the New York Times cross-checked obituaries with a list of Santos’ employees, Santos changed his story to say that the employees were in the process of being hired.

Members also noted that Santos has recently been given access to classified information, an apparent reference to the House briefing on the Chinese surveillance balloon conducted earlier on Thursday.

Goldman criticized Republican leaders in Congress who have not called on Santos to step down, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who backed Santos in his campaign for Congress, calling it a “shame that they . . . thought they could stem the wave of opposition by making him resign from committees,” Goldman said, referring to Santos’ decision last week to step down from his committee assignments.

Crucial Quote

“Yesterday George Santos said he refuses to go to the back of the room or the back of the bus, and it’s plausible that George Santos is so delusional he mistakes himself for Rosa Parks,” Torres said, referring to Santos’ response to Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who directly rebuked him for attending the State of the Union address.

Surprising Fact

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Thursday he hasn’t taken a position on the resolution, but called Santos a “fraud” and a “liar.” He said previously that House Republicans were responsible for dealing with Santos.

Key Background

Santos, who was elected to represent Long Island’s third congressional district in November, has admitted to lying about key elements of his résumé and personal background, including that he never worked at Goldman Sachs or Citigroup, that he is not Jewish (but apparently still “Jew-ish”) and that he did not start an animal rescue charity (he later said he campaigned for the charity and helped it fundraise). Santos also faces allegations about his campaign finance statements and financial disclosure forms. The watchdog organization the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission that accused him of underreporting contributions on his campaign statements to skirt reporting requirements and using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, and raised questions about the source of his sudden wealth. Santos is also under investigation by the FBI for allegedly stealing $3,000 from a GoFundMe he helped set up to pay for a dying dog’s lifesaving surgery, the dog’s owner, a homeless veteran, recently told multiple outlets. The Justice Department is reportedly investigating Santos’ campaign finances, and the New York Attorney General and Nassau County Prosecutor’s offices have also announced reviews of his conduct. Santos, however, has refused to resign and expressed confidence that he will be cleared of wrongdoing.

What To Watch For

Whether the House Ethics Committee will recommend Congress vote to expel Santos. The bipartisan committee has launched an investigation into Santos, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) confirmed this week, and its next step would be to form a subcommittee to investigate the allegations against him. If the committee does recommend members to vote on his expulsion, two thirds of members must vote in favor of the resolution.