Related video: Rep. Robert Garcia introduces resolution to expel George Santos from Congress
Scandal-plagued New York Republican Rep George Santos has refused to resign from his post, despite a looming vote which may result in his expulsion from the House.
Democratic Reps Robert Garcia and Dan Goldman have filed a privileged resolution to expel him and the House will have to handle it within two legislative days.
Mr Garcia said it was “an important insurance policy to ensure that the vote happens and that we get rid of him this week,” according to Punchbowl News.
Republicans are unlikely to back the Democratic resolution to oust Mr Santos, with the filing by the Democrats putting pressure on House Ethics chair GOP Rep Michael Guest to make a push on his own measure to remove the 35-year-old.
The exposed lawmaker has previously said he is expecting to be expelled, but on Tuesday reiterated on the House floor that he would not be voluntarily resigning.
All this comes after a 56-page report from the House Ethics Committee released earlier this month outlined “substantial evidence” that Mr Santos violated federal law.
23 January 2023: Poll shows majority of New Yorkers want Santos gone
Perhaps spelling Mr Santos’s final fate, voters in his district and elsewhere around the state signaled in a poll published Monday that they favour the congressman resigning rather than spending two years in office. Even a plurality of Republicans, 49 per cent, said so.
Wherever Mr Santos goes from here, it’s hard to see a path for the 34-year-old freshman to win a second term as he faces unprecedented condemnation from his colleagues in every corner of Washington and hungry rivals back home.
John Bowden29 November 2023 09:00
18 January 2023: Eula Rochard blows the lid off of ‘Kitara Ravache’
Just when everyone thought this story couldn’t get any weirder, a Brazilian drag performer by the name of Eula Rochard contacted a freelance reporter, Marisa Kabas, and supplied a picture of Mr Santos in drag.
The congressman, she said, performed in drag under the moniker “Kitara Ravache” when he lived in Brazil as a teenager.
Mr Santos would go on to deny this, but subsequent photos and videos emerged prompting another admission by the congressman, as well as this defeated quip: “Sue me.” It’s later discovered that a Wikipedia user who went by Mr Santos’s alias “Anthony Devolder” bragged about performing at a number of shows.
John Bowden29 November 2023 08:00
17 January 2023: Santos receives committee assignments
After days of reporters pressing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about Mr Santos and whether he will be allowed to remain in Congress for two years, GOP leadership reveals that the extent of their punishment for Mr Santos’s countless lies will be assignments to smaller House committees with less desirable areas of expertise.
Mr Santos walks away from committee assignments with roles on two panels: the House Committee on Small Business, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
17 January 2023: Rep Ritchie Torres holds press conference with ‘Concerned Citizens of NY03’
Still working to keep the pressure on his in-state rival, Mr Torres brought a number of Mr Santos’s constituents to a press conference and touted his “SANTOS Act” — legislation that would force congressional candidates to supply basic information about their backgrounds to the federal government under penalty for perjury.
John Bowden29 November 2023 07:00
11 January 2023: The GOP dam breaks
10 January 2023: Rep Ritchie Torres and colleague formally request ethics probe
Not keen to let his new feud against George Santos go, Mr Torres and his New York ally Dan Goldman file a request for the House Ethics Committee to probe Mr Santos’s improper filing of financial disclosure forms.
11 January 2023: The GOP dam breaks
This marked the day that George Santos finally said goodbye to any immunity he had from attacks originating within his own party.
The Nassau County Republican Party held a press conference formally denouncing him as a member of Congress; it was attended by one of Mr Santos’s fellow GOP members, Anthony D’Esposito, who became the first sitting Republican to call for his ouster.
John Bowden29 November 2023 06:00
2 January 2023: Brazilian authorities come back to haunt George Santos
Happy New Year! While most Americans ring in the new year with champagne and late-night celebrations, George Santos wakes up the day after New Year’s Day to learn that he is now the only sitting member of Congress to face a serious international criminal investigation.
The New York Times, citing a spokesperson for prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro, reports that authorities intend to prosecute him for allegedly stealing a checkbook from an acquaintance of his mother and using it to make several purchases. The congressman has denied this.
John Bowden29 November 2023 05:00
28 December 2022: Nassau County’s district attorney launches a probe
Nassau County’s district attorney delivered a sharp statement just before the new year, insisting that “no one is above the law and if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.”
Again, it wasn’t clear what specific crime Mr Santos would supposedly be investigated for allegedly committing. But the district attorney of Nassau County is a Republican, and therefore her statement served as the first crack to appear in a dam protecting Mr Santos from the wrath of his own party.
“The numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with Congressman-Elect Santos are nothing short of stunning. The residents of Nassau County and other parts of the third district must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress,” Anne T Donnelly said.
John Bowden29 November 2023 04:00
26 December 2022: Rep Ritchie Torres calls for Santos to be investigated
Congressman Ritchie Torres, a fellow New Yorker of the opposite party of Mr Santos, became the first member of Congress to speak about the issue in late December. On the 26th, he called for the House Ethics Committee to investigate the surge in wealth that Mr Santos self-reported.
26 December 2022 (evening): Santos is eviscerated by Tulsi Gabbard
Apparently unsatisfied with the grilling he received in local New York media hours earlier, Mr Santos appeared on Fox News for the first time. Clearly expecting a friendly interview, the congressman-elect was instead subjected to a reprimanding from former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, sitting in for Tucker Carlson.
“Do you have no shame?” she questioned him at one point during the excruciating confrontation.
27 December 2022: Rep Ritchie Torres calls for Santos to step down
A day later, Mr Torres ups his criticism of Mr Santos as more and more of the DC journalism world is consumed by coverage of the New York Republican.
Reposting a clip of Mr Santos’s beatdown from Ms Gabbard broadcast the previous evening, Mr Torres told his new colleague: “George, you can be an ally of the Jewish community w/o pretending to be Jewish and w/o pretending to have family members who died in the Holocaust.”
“Stop embarrassing yourself and RESIGN,” he added.
John Bowden29 November 2023 03:00
Santos insists he won’t resign ahead of vote to expel him
Despite a looming vote that could see him expelled from the House following a scathing ethics report, the disgraced Republican congressman has said he “will not be resigning” ahead of a vote that
Rather than step down from his seat, the 35-year-old scandal-ridden fabulist will now face the wrath of his fellow lawmakers after “substantial evidence” suggested that he violated federal laws.
Gustaf Kilander has the full story:
Mike Bedigan29 November 2023 02:15
26 December 2022: Santos spills the beans
After days of crying foul and denouncing reporters as political hatchet-men through his attorney, George Santos finally came clean. Turns out, those journalists weren’t lying or launching “attacks” — Mr Santos really did lie about working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, he really did lie about being Jewish, and he really did lie about attending college.
But those lies, he said, were mere attempts to “embellish” his resume — a practice he faulted Americans of all political shades for supposedly engaging in.
And he remained adamant about serving two years in Congress, despite the criticism.
John Bowden29 November 2023 02:00
VIDEO: ‘Bless their hearts’: George Santos reacts to House’s third attempt to expel him
‘Bless their hearts’: George Santos reacts to House’s third attempt to expel him
Gustaf Kilander29 November 2023 01:30
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.