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Embattled Rep. George Santos has vowed not to resign from Congress following a scathing ethics report but anticipates he’ll be booted from his seat.
Mr. Santos, New York Republican, shared his prognostication during a meandering three-hour discussion on X Spaces with Monica Matthews. The lawmaker hurled a barrage of accusations and insults at his colleagues while discussing the latest attempt to oust him from Congress.
“I know I’m going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor,” Mr. Santos said. “I’ve done the math over and over, and it doesn’t look really good.”
Previous attempts to remove the lawmaker from the House hit speed bumps, with some lawmakers arguing that Mr. Santos hadn’t been convicted of any crimes and some wanting to see the ethics report.
That report accused Mr. Santos of misusing campaign funds, filing false reports on his donations and engaging in fraud. The report also suggested that the lawmaker should be referred to the Justice Department.
Now, there are two resolutions to expel Mr. Santos from Congress, one from House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest of Mississippi and the other from Rep. Robert Garcia, California Democrat.
Mr. Garcia has promised to submit a privileged resolution, meaning House leadership will have two days to bring the legislation to the floor when Congress returns from the Thanksgiving break.
A resolution to expel a lawmaker requires a two-thirds majority to advance in the House, and many members who once voted to save Mr. Santos have changed their minds.
Shortly after the report’s release, Mr. Santos announced he would not seek reelection in 2024.
“I’m not running for reelection, not because this was a damning report,” Mr. Santos said. “I’m not running for reelection because I don’t want to work with a bunch of hypocrites.”
The lawmaker went on the offensive throughout the discussion on X, lobbing insults at Mr. Guest and daring the Ethics Committee chairman to force a vote on the resolution. The New Yorker said he would wear the expulsion “like a badge of honor.” Should Mr. Santos be expelled, he would be only the sixth member of Congress in history to be booted in such a manner.
He also attacked unnamed lawmakers and demanded that others receive ethics investigations. Mr. Santos claimed that members are more interested in getting drunk with lobbyists, don’t show up to vote because “they’re too hungover,” and give out their voting cards so someone else can vote for them.
“Within the ranks of the United States Congress, there’s felons galore, there’s people with all sorts of sheisty backgrounds, and all of a sudden George Santos is the Mary Magdalene of the United States Congress,” Mr. Santos said.
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