It’s not uncommon for unsubstantiated rumors to circulate on Capitol Hill. Around this time 24 hours ago, for example, there was some scuttlebutt that Rep. George Santos was poised to end his humiliating congressional career by resigning.
By the afternoon, the New York Republican was not only aware of the chatter, he felt the need to reject it, publishing a message to social media that argued, among other things, that he hadn’t cleared out his office and he’s “not resigning.” Soon after, Santos let Semafor’s Kadia Goba into his office to take a picture to prove that his office had not been packed up.
It’s difficult to say with confidence how and why the rumor started, or whether the GOP congressman’s denials are credible. But to Santos’ chagrin, some of his colleagues are no longer interested in whether the scandal-plagued freshman is prepared to voluntarily exit the House. As NBC News reported, they’re instead intent on expelling him.
House Republicans from New York moved Thursday to force a vote on whether to expel their embattled and indicted colleague George Santos from Congress. The privileged resolution offered by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., means the House must vote on the resolution within two legislative days.
Revisiting our earlier coverage, this effort isn’t coming out of nowhere. Earlier this month, after Santos faced a new round of criminal charges, D’Esposito was one of a handful of New York Republicans who introduced an expulsion resolution to, as he put it, “rid the People’s House of fraudster George Santos.”
Two weeks later, proponents of the effort are now forcing the issue.
Expelling sitting members of Congress isn’t easy — it requires a two-thirds majority of those in the chamber — and it’s only happened twice since the Civil War. In 1980, Democratic Rep. Michael Myers of Pennsylvania was expelled over his involvement with the Abscam scandal, and in 2002, Democratic Rep. Jim Traficant of Ohio was expelled after he was convicted on multiple corruption charges.
Santos might soon join this small club, but it would require significant support from the Republican majority, and that’s unlikely to materialize. In fact, new House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested to Fox News’ Sean Hannity last night that he doesn’t intend to support the effort to kick Santos out of Congress.
“Here’s the reality, Sean,” the Louisiana Republican said. “We have a four-seat majority in the House. It is possible that that number may be reduced even more in the coming weeks and months, and so we will have what may be the most razor-thin majority in the history of the Congress. We have no margin for error. And so George Santos is due due process. … We have to allow due process to play itself out. That’s what our system of justice is for.” The answer struck me as notable because of the degree to which Johnson was candid about his motivations — at least at first. Note how the new House speaker initially focused on the size of his tiny majority in the chamber when talking about Santos’ fate. It was only after that when Johnson referenced the party’s standard talking points about allowing the legal process to “play itself out.” As for the scandal-plagued congressman, Santos pleaded not guilty to his original indictment in May, and he continued to proclaim his innocence in the wake of the 23-count superseding indictment filed in federal court earlier this month. The New York Republican is scheduled to be arraigned in a few hours on a superseding indictment in his federal fraud case. He’s expected to again plead not guilty. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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