Steve Bannon believes George Santos’ expulsion from Congress could fuel a GOP “civil war.”
The former White House adviser said on his on War Room podcast Saturday that he thinks ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, (R-Calif.) and other anti-Trump Republicans masterminded Santos’ political demise.
“This is McCarthy to screw MAGA,” Bannon said. “This is a thing to jam up” current House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Santos “is not a guy you want to defend,” Bannon admitted, but he argued the expulsion is a lot bigger than the lying Long Island Republican.
“This is 100% McCarthy and his acolytes trying to make our job even tougher and take away the majority,” said the former Trump sidekick. “… If they want a civil war, you got one.”
With Santos’ seat now unfilled, Republicans hold a slim 221-213 majority in the US House of Representatives.
Santos (R-NY) became the sixth member ever to be expelled from the House on Friday, a little more than a year after he won election despite fabricating much of his personal and professional history, lying about his campaign’s finances and defrauding donors.
The now-former representative from New York’s 3rd Congressional District is also facing a 23-count federal indictment for allegedly having laundered his campaign’s money and defrauded donors. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.