The House Ethics Committee Chairman, Michael Guest, a Mississippi Republican, recently introduced a resolution to expel Representative George Santos, a Republican from New York, from Congress. This move came one day after the Ethics Committee released a detailed report from its investigation into Santos, uncovering additional “uncharged and unlawful conduct” that went beyond the criminal allegations already pending against him. The report concluded that Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit”.
The resolution to expel Santos is expected to be addressed by lawmakers at the end of the month once they return from the Thanksgiving holiday. This action follows Santos’ announcement that he will not seek reelection, although he has remained defiant, denouncing the investigation as a “biased report”. Despite facing calls to resign from both Democrats and Republicans throughout the year, Santos has survived several previous attempts to oust him from the House. Notably, a Republican-led effort to expel him failed in early November, with some lawmakers expressing concern over expelling a member who is still engaged in an ongoing legal battle and has not yet received a criminal conviction. Prior to this vote, Santos defended his right to “the presumption of innocence”.
Moreover, in May, the House voted to refer a Democrat-led resolution to expel Santos to the Ethics Committee. Santos has also pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds, and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports.