Expel George Santos? GOP leaders aren’t ready to take that step
WASHINGTON — Protecting a narrow, four-vote majority, Republican leaders in the House are making clear they intend to let the legal process play out with New York’s Rep. George Santos before they take steps to force his resignation or expel him.
The freshman congressman was accused Wednesday by federal prosecutors of embezzling money from his campaign, falsely receiving unemployment funds and lying to Congress about his finances, and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Santos pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Republican leaders, who for months have faced mounting questions about Santos after most of his campaign biography was
exposed as a lie, were unmoved and brushed aside calls — including from some members of their party — that they take immediate action to push Santos out of Congress.
“In America, there’s a presumption of innocence. But they’re serious charges. He’s going to have to go through the legal process,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Scalise was seconded by Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the No. 3 House Republican, who sidestepped the question of whether Santos should resign.
“As I’ve said from the very beginning on questions on this subject, this legal process is going to play itself out,” she said.
The position Republican leaders have staked out generally follows the precedent that Congress has set in similar criminal cases over the years. The House has expelled just two members in recent decades, and both votes occurred after the lawmaker had been convicted on federal charges. But many say the narrow majority that Republicans won in the House is surely another factor in the GOP leadership’s thinking.
The New York Republican infamous for making up much of his life story is arrested on federal criminal charges. He continues to defy calls to resign from Congress.
“There are a few members of the New York delegation and a few others calling for his immediate expulsion on the Republican side, which could tilt the leadership’s hand. But given where we’re at with the debt limit and a four-vote majority, they don’t want to lose any of those votes right now,” said Casey Burgat, an assistant professor who leads the legislative affairs program at George Washington University.
Santos is adamant that he will stay in Congress and seek reelection in 2024. In a news conference outside a Long Island federal courthouse, he spoke Wednesday of getting back to Washington so he could vote on a top House GOP priority, a border bill that would restrict some asylum seekers and boost enforcement. It’s expected to be a close vote.
Santos also voted last month for the House GOP bill that ties a debt-limit extension to an estimated $4.8trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. In a dramatic flourish, Santos was the last Republican to cast a vote in favor of that bill, helping it win passage by a paper-thin margin — 217 to 215.
While GOP leaders say the legal system needs to run its course, a few Republicans have seen enough.
“The people of New York’s 3rd district deserve a voice in congress,” tweeted Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas). “George Santos should be immediately expelled from Congress and a special election initiated at the soonest possible date.”
The George Santos indictment accuses the lawmaker of making car payments and buying luxury clothing with campaign funds.
The House and the Senate have the power to punish members of their chamber for misconduct, including through expulsion. To date, according to the Congressional Research Service, 20 members have been expelled, but the large majority of those cases occurred at the outset of the Civil War. Half of the 20 expulsions were the result of a single vote in the Senate involving senators who represented states that had seceded from the Union, but who had not formally resigned.
The two most recent House members to be expelled following convictions on public corruption charges were:
Rep. Michael J. “Ozzie” Myers (D-Pa.), who was convicted of bribery and conspiracy for taking money from FBI agents who posed as Arab sheiks. He was expelled in 1980 following his conviction and served more than a year in prison.
Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio), who was expelled in 2002, three months after he was found guilty of 10 federal charges, including racketeering, bribery and fraud for taking bribes and kickbacks from businessmen and his own staff.
Some lawmakers have resigned upon being convicted of a crime, preempting an expulsion vote.
Last year, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) resigned from office after a California jury convicted him of lying to federal authorities about an illegal campaign donation from a foreign national.
Two years earlier, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) submitted his resignation about a month after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiring with his wife to steal about $250,000 in campaign funds to pay for a lavish lifestyle, including vacations, outings with friends and private school tuition. Then-President Trump pardoned Hunter shortly before leaving office.
Since reports of federal charges against GOP congressman George Santos, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) says more lawmakers have shown interest in ousting him.
Trump also pardoned former Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), who resigned in 2019 ahead of admitting to helping his son and others dodge $800,000 in stock market losses when he learned that a drug trial by a small pharmaceutical company had failed.
More than three dozen Democratic lawmakers have signed onto a bill from Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) that would expel Santos from the House.
“It’s pretty clear to everyone, including his constituents, that he is a complete fraud and shouldn’t be in Congress,” Garcia said.
He said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) is not pushing to expel Santos because he needs his vote. Garcia urged the several Republicans from New York who have criticized Santos to sign on to the expulsion legislation.
McCarthy “can barely keep his caucus together on votes, so it’s clear that he’s using George Santos’ support to keep him in leadership,” Garcia said.
Republicans deny that Santos has been a distraction and say they are focused on other issues.
“This place is bigger than any one member,” said Oklahoma’s Rep. Kevin Hern, chairman of the powerful Republican Study Committee.
Despite the reports that Santos was facing federal charges, and the crush of media attention at his arraignment in New York, Republicans said there was no discussion of him during their weekly closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday.
“I never heard his name mentioned once,” said Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.).
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
