Rep. George Santos (R-NY) is set to face his third expulsion attempt as soon as this week, with the New York freshman already conceding defeat that he’ll be ousted from the House and won’t run for reelection.
If Santos is removed, that brings the House GOP’s four-seat majority down to just three — setting the stage for a special election in New York to finish out his term in a district that leans likely Democratic. A slew of other candidates have already lined up to replace Santos in the likelihood he is expelled, including Democrats and Republicans.
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In a lengthy interview on an X Space hosted by Monica Matthews over the weekend, Santos predicted he would be expelled from the lower chamber in lawmakers’ latest efforts to kick him out of Congress despite the first-term incumbent denouncing the charges against him as being “slanderous.” The forthcoming expulsion vote comes after the House Ethics Committee released its long-awaited report earlier this month detailing the findings of its monthslong investigation into Santos, citing “substantial evidence” the freshman engaged in unlawful conduct.
The resolution was filed by Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) shortly after the report was released, accusing Santos of knowingly violating the law while running for Congress last year and misusing campaign funds for personal use. There is no specific timeline for when lawmakers will act on the resolution, although it’s likely members could push to file the motion as privileged when they return from recess on Tuesday, forcing a vote on the matter within two legislative days.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) already said he would submit a separate privileged resolution to force a vote on his expulsion, once again putting Republicans in a bind as they consider for the third time whether to remove Santos from office. (A vote to expel Santos would require a two-thirds majority, meaning at least 290 members must support the motion if all lawmakers are present and voting.)
Should Santos be ousted, his removal would trigger a special elections process in New York to carry out the rest of his term. Once the expulsion vote is complete, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) would have 10 days to schedule a special election, according to state law.
Before that election, each party must select its nominee after 30 days of Hochul’s announcement. County parties are expected to pick their nominees rather than hold a primary election.
At least 16 candidates have expressed interest in running for Santos’s seat in 2024, with several of them likely to compete in the special election should Santos be ousted. Among them is former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who held the seat before retiring to launch an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2022.
Even if Santos is removed from office, the New York Republican will still deal with public scrutiny as his legal battles continue and he faces a slate of criminal charges.
Santos faces 23 counts charged via two federal indictments, as well as several other ethical violations and allegations detailed in the House Ethics Committee report. The investigation concluded that Santos knowingly filed false or incomplete reports to the Federal Election Commission, used campaign funds for personal purposes, and “engaged in knowing and willful violations” in relation to the Ethics in Government Act.
The report accused Santos of “blatantly” stealing funds by deceiving donors into giving contributions they thought were going toward his campaign but were instead being used “for his personal benefit.” Santos allegedly did this by reporting “fictitious loans to his political committees” to incentivize donors to make further contributions but then used those as “repayments” toward his own loans.
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Santos denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to his indictment charges in New York. However, he announced he would not run for reelection to his New York seat, but he left the door open for a future run in a different seat.
“I don’t rule out another run for office,” he said on the X Space conversation, adding he won’t run for anything in 2024. “Elected office is not off the table, but it’s definitely not something I’m going to jump right back into.”
