Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) stated on Friday that he anticipates being expelled from the House of Representatives after a scathing report was released by the House Ethics Committee, accusing him of campaign finance violations. Santos, a freshman congressman, acknowledged that he expects the expulsion resolution to be brought to the floor. Despite surviving two previous expulsion attempts, some members have indicated they may vote differently this time.
The House Ethics Committee initiated an investigation in March 2023 following allegations of campaign finance misconduct and discrepancies in Santos’ biographical details. In May 2023, Santos was indicted on seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House. Another indictment in October brought an additional 10 criminal counts against Santos, including conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements to the Federal Election Commission, falsifying records, aggravated identity theft, and access device fraud.
Santos pleaded not guilty to all charges and expressed his intention to continue serving his district until he is allowed. He stated that he has no plans to voluntarily leave Congress and attributed his decision not to seek reelection to his dissatisfaction with working alongside what he referred to as a “bunch of hypocrites.” Santos called for an ethics investigation into the behavior of other members of Congress, claiming that his actions occurred before he became a member.
House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) recommended Santos’ expulsion less than 24 hours after the committee published its report. Guest may bring the expulsion measure to the floor when the House reconvenes after Thanksgiving. Santos responded by stating that if he is expelled, he will consider it a badge of honor and become the sixth expelled member of Congress. He emphasized that he has no intention of leaving and asserted that his tenure will only end when he decides it is over.