Republican-elect George Santos, whose lies have made headlines in the American political and media world since his election in late 2022, will at least temporarily retain his seat in the US House of Representatives after Wednesday’s failure, November 1, a vote on it aimed to exclude it.
The 35-year-old elected official is an inveterate liar who has been federally indicted for defrauding his donors and is accused of money laundering and electronic fraud. He is also accused of receiving unemployment benefits during the pandemic even though he was not entitled to them.
But the exclusion request was rejected in the plenary session on Wednesday evening with 179 yes votes and 213 no votes.
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With Republicans holding a narrow four-seat majority in the 435-seat House of Representatives, the ouster of Mr. Santos – a New York state lawmaker – would have made passing legislation even more difficult for them and new Speaker Mike Johnson. However, many elected officials, including Mr. Santos’ Republican colleagues, have distanced themselves from the latter.
“We must expel this crook from the people’s house.”
The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the elected official in February but has not yet released its conclusions. He said Tuesday he would announce his “next course of action” in the case by Nov. 17.
Wanting a quicker result, New York Republican-elect Anthony D’Esposito recently introduced a bill that would allow the expulsion of George Santos if approved by a two-thirds majority of lawmakers present. “We must expel this crook from the people’s house,” Mr. D’Esposito said in a message posted on X, the former Twitter.
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The House of Representatives has already expelled one of its representatives in the past. The most recent example is Ohio Democrat James Traficant, who was ousted in 2002 on 10 charges, including corruption.