New House Resolution Proposes That Congress Expel Santos

A group of Congressmembers have put forth a House resolution that would expel Rep. George Santos (Nassau/Queens) from Congress.

The proposed legislation needs a two-thirds vote to remove Santos from his seat in New York’s 3rd congressional district. It comes after Santos has repeatedly refused to step down despite ongoing calls from his colleagues and constituents to do so. His constituents have also reported not being able to get in touch with his office.

“Enough is enough: My colleagues and I are introducing legislation to expel George Santos from the United States Congress,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx). “If Kevin McCarthy refuses to hold George Santos accountable, then we will.”

house resolution George Santos — Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves a House GOP conference meeting on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Jan. 25, 2023. Federal authorities are investigating a military veteran’s claim that Santos raised $3,000 for life-saving surgery for his pet dog several years ago, then never turned over the money for the animal’s care, according to a published report.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File

Along with Torres, Rep. Mike Garcia (Calif.), Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn), Rep. Becca Balint (Vt.) and Rep. Eric Sorensen (Ill.) are sponsoring the House resolution, which Santos constituents have expressed support for.

“We urge GOP leadership to quickly bring this resolution to the House floor for a straight up or down vote,” Concerned Citizens of NY-03, a grassroots group that formed in response to the Santos scandal, said in a statement. “The travesty of Santos’s presence in Congress is not politics as usual and cannot be treated as such. And it leaves us, the citizens of NY-03, without meaningful representation in Congress. Our Constitutional right to representation is being ignored.”

Constituents from Long Island traveled to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to protest Santos remaining in office. Santos came under fire beginning almost two months ago when the New York Times first published their investigation that found he lied about his entire background. Since then more lies have surfaced and Santos has had no substantive explanation for any of them.

Santos removed himself from his House committee assignments last week while there are active investigations of him and his finances, including a House ethics investigation. Nassau County, New York State, and federal investigators are also looking into him.