NY Republicans move to expel George Santos from Congress: ‘New Yorkers deserve better’

A handful of House Republicans from New York are moving forward to expel their delegation colleague, Rep. George Santos, from Congress.

Now that the House has resumed business after electing a new Speaker, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito introduced a resolution on the House floor Thursday to expel Santos from Congress on the eve of the freshman lawmaker’s return to federal court Friday for another arraignment related to his fundraising tactics. The move starts a two-day legislative clock before all members will be asked to vote on the measure.

The resolution details the criminal charges Santos faces along with many of the mistruths he claimed related to his biography, education, religion, work history and his connection to major events like the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the Pulse nightclub shooting, despite numerous reports contradicting his statements.

The members initially announced plans to push for Santos’ expulsion earlier this month after federal prosecutors filed a 23-count superseding indictment against Santos —who represents the 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Queens and Nassau County’s north shore — accusing him of additional crimes tied to his campaign fundraising tactics, including identity theft and credit card fraud.

Long Island Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, who represents the neighboring 4th Congressional District on the south shore of Nassau Country, announced the expulsion resolution earlier this month on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.

The measure to remove Santos, which requires a two-thirds vote of the House to pass, is being cosponsored by four other freshmen Republican members, including Reps. Michael Lawler, Nick LaLota, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams.

All five members are expected to face competitive House races next year to hold on to their seats, according to the Cook Political Report, as the GOP maintains a razor thin majority in the chamber.

“New Yorkers deserve better than scam artist George Santos. Now that we have a Speaker, I expect the expulsion resolution we drafted several weeks ago to be acted on shortly. He’s gotta go,” LaLota said in a statement to Gothamist.

On Thursday, Santos posted on X that he is not resigning, noting that he is “entitled to due process.”

Initially, Santos blasted his colleagues for seeking to remove him before his criminal trial played out.

“It’s disheartening to see my colleagues prioritize their campaigns over the essential work that needs to be done,” Santos said in a statement released on X earlier this month.

“An expulsion of myself as a member of Congress before being found guilty from a criminal investigation will set a dangerous precedent. This will do nothing other than erase the voices of the electorate” Santos said in the post.

Santos did not immediately respond to a request from Gothamist to clarify his message.

In May, shortly after Santos’ first indictment, Rep. Robert Robert Garcia of California introduced a measure to expel Santos that Republicans blocked in a party-line vote, NPR reported at the time. In July, Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced a resolution to censure Santos, but the measure was never called up for a vote on the House floor.

The latest move to remove Santos coincided with a scramble among House Republicans to select a new Speaker after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his leadership post earlier this month.

On Wednesday, House members elected Rep. Michael Johnson of Louisiana in a vote down party lines. He was the fourth candidate Republicans nominated for the post after fissures within the Republican conference forced three other candidates to give up on their leadership bids.

This story has been updated with additional information.