Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) could be ejected from Congress as soon as Thursday.
Topline
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) could be removed from Congress this week as the House is set to vote for a third time whether to oust him—a consequence that would make him the first member of Congress to be booted by his colleagues without having first been convicted of a crime and one that could cost Republicans a seat in their narrow majority in the House.Key Facts
Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) introduced the latest expulsion resolution Tuesday as a “privileged” measure, requiring the House to vote within 48 hours.
The resolution comes after a damning report released earlier this month by the House Ethics Committee found Santos “blatantly stole from his campaign” by engaging in a variety of schemes to defraud his donors, prompting dozens of Republicans who voted against the previous two ouster efforts to flip their votes.
There are indications Santos may be able to survive a third effort to remove him, which requires the support of two-thirds of members: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday he has “real reservations” about the precedent it could set by removing him without a conviction, and other Republicans, including Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), have said they will vote against his removal.
If Santos is removed, it could cut into Republicans’ slim 222-213 majority as he represents a district that was previously in Democrats’ control and would have voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 under its existing boundaries. Big Number
77. That’s the number of Republicans who would need to vote with the 213 Democrats in the House to remove Santos, assuming all members on both sides of the aisle are present for the vote and all Democrats vote in favor of removing him.
