Washington, DC On Capitol Hill, the George Santos issue could be coming to an end, but his legal fights are expected to last long beyond 2024. The House will vote this week on Santos’s expulsion, a Republican congressman from New York who is under indictment. This comes after a damning Ethics Committee report that revealed he had improperly used campaign cash for personal costs like rent, travel, opulent gifts, cosmetic procedures, and an OnlyFans subscription.
According to the audit, Santos intentionally submitted fake campaign funding statements and misled contributors. Even though Santos entered a not guilty plea to federal charges and claimed that the report was biassed, Michael Guest, the chairman of the Ethics Committee (R-Miss.), submitted a resolution to remove Santos from office before Thanksgiving. When the House reconvenes later this week, Guest intends to call for a vote on the resolution.
Guest highlighted the extraordinary degree of deception and abuse in Santos’s behaviour and said that removal is a suitable punishment. Although Santos recently withstood an earlier attempt by fellow New York Republicans to remove him from office, many have changed their minds after seeing the damning ethics report, with some even coming over to supporting Santos’ removal.
Santos, who has acknowledged that an expulsion vote is probable, has ruled out resignation and plans to confront it. Should he be banished, there would be a special election to fill his Long Island seat, which would give Democrats a chance to gain ground in a district that had been held by Republicans. The anticipated removal would also reduce the Republicans’ majority, making it more difficult for the incoming Speaker, Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, to pursue legislation.
Drama has always characterised the Santos scandal, and this week is no different. The progressive organisation MoveOn Political Action intends to present lawmakers with an inflated 15-foot portrait of Santos and request his resignation. With differing opinions from Guest and Johnson over its possibility this week, the date of the expulsion vote is still up in the air.
It is unusual for members of Congress to be expelled, and Santos contends that his removal prior to the outcome of his legal proceedings would be unprecedented. A trial for the federal charges he is currently facing, which include identity theft, money laundering, and theft of public funds, is set for September. According to Santos, standing for expulsion will usher in a new era of due process by contesting the idea that one is innocent until and until proven guilty.
