WASHINGTON – Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) led a group of seven House Democrats to introduce a formal resolution Thursday to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from Congress.
It’s the first formal move to remove the embattled freshman congressman, who is the subject of an ethics probe into his campaign finances, among other things.
The effort is a long shot without support from the GOP, especially without House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). It will take two-thirds of Congress present and voting. So far, only a few of the majority party have publicly spoken out against Santos.
Only five House lawmakers have ever been expelled from the chamber; the last one was 20 years ago when James Trafficant was ousted. McCarthy recently said the House would take action if the ethics probe found wrongdoing.
“I find it notable that George Santos was shamelessly parading himself on the aisle during the State of the Union, which tells me that he has no shame,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said. “He has no regret for the laws that he’s broken, for the lies he’s told, and he has no regrets for defrauding his constituents. None of it comes as a shock.”
But Torres said the resolution would, at the very least, require House Republicans to show “where they stand” on Santos’s status in Congress.
“It’s one thing to condemn him behind the scenes, it’s another thing to force a vote,” he said.
Santos declined to comment on the resolution Thursday, but said that it was Garcia’s “prerogative” to present it.
