Rep. George Santos (R-NY) defiantly vowed not to resign after two separate efforts to force a vote on his expulsion from Congress were put forward on the House floor Tuesday.
The first expulsion resolution of the day against the lying Long Island pol was introduced by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) as a privileged measure, meaning the resolution requires congressional action within two legislative days.
A second effort to oust Santos was introduced Tuesday night by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), also as a privileged measure, and co-sponsored by House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.).
“We are now going down a third attempt for a privilege resolution to expel me from the House of Representatives,” Santos said on the House floor after the bills were introduced, blasting the bipartisan attempts to remove him from office.
“Here’s the case in point, in history, five members of Congress have been expelled. All five had suffered convictions in a court. All five had due process. This expulsion vote simply undermines and underscores the precedent that we’ve had in this chamber. It starts and puts us in a new direction, a dangerous one that sets a very dangerous precedent for the future,” he warned.
“I ask that all my colleagues in the House consider and understand what this means for the future. And to set the record straight, and put this in the record, I will not be resigning,” Santos said.
Santos, who represents New York’s 3rd Congressional District, survived an expulsion vote earlier this month that was brought to the floor by D’Esposito and fellow New York GOP Reps. Marc Molinaro, Nick LaLota, Brandon Williams and Mike Lawler.
The resolution, put forward following the truth-challenged congressman’s sweeping 23-count federal indictment on embezzlement and fraud charges, failed 179-213, despite 24 Republicans and 155 Democrats casting a ballot to expel Santos.
Under former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House GOP lawmakers batted down an earlier move by Democrats to expel the freshman rep, opting instead to refer Santos’ many fabrications and financial misdeeds to the House Ethics Committee.
The latest efforts to kick Santos out of the House stem from the Nov. 16 release of the Ethics Committee’s scathing report on Santos, which concluded that the lying Long Island lawmaker “blatantly stole” from campaign funds and committed numerous ethics violations.
The report flagged jarring expenses Santos seemingly made with donor money, including OnlyFans subscriptions, Botox purchases, trips to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and a shopping spree at the luxury brand Hermés .
Santos blasted the ethics panel’s findings during his floor speech, arguing that it was “incomplete, irresponsible and littered with hyperbole and littered with bias opinions.”
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who co-sponsored Garcia’s expulsion resolution, slammed Santos as “an admitted liar, fraud, and cheat” who is “wholly unfit for public office.”
“The time has finally come to remove George Santos from Congress,” Garcia said in a statement. “If we’re going to restore faith in government, we must start with restoring integrity in the US House of Representatives. It is essential for the American people to have Representatives they can trust and who don’t build their careers on deceit and falsehoods.”
D’Esposito told reporters that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hasn’t indicated whether or not he supports his effort to expel Santos.
“He didn’t say either way,” D’Esposito said, according to the Hill. “He has said throughout this whole process that we need to do what’s best for the district back home, and what’s best for New York. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Johnson revealed on Monday that he and Santos talked “at some length” over the Thanksgiving holiday about the embattled congressman’s options.
Santos told reporters that the speaker called him on Tuesday as well, and asked “if I had made my decision.” Santos claims he responded, “Yes. Put up or shut up at this point.”
Santos, who has already said that he will not seek re-election, is planning to hold an early morning press conference on Thursday.
It’s unclear when the House will take up the two resolutions calling for Santos’ expulsion.