The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on whether to expel New York Representative George Santos because of his indictments for corruption.
Santos pleaded not guilty to a 23-count federal indictment on October 27 that included charges of laundering funds to pay for his personal expenses, illegally receiving unemployment benefits and using donors’ credit cards without their consent. The charges also include Santos reporting a false $500,000 campaign loan and lying to the House about his assets.
The 35-year-old lawmaker has seen his congressional career marred by controversy since its beginning, when it was revealed that much of the background he campaigned on was either made up or exaggerated.
The proposal to remove Santos was brought by his Republican colleagues from New York last month, but the resolution was delayed with the House speaker position being vacant, following the ousting of former House speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Republicans replaced McCarthy with Mike Johnson after several votes, with multiple candidates attempting to take the position. Johnson has said he does not support the removal of Santos.
Santos represents a small part of eastern New York City and some of its suburbs, a district that Democrats would like to retake. If Santos were to be removed, a special election would be held that could end up shrinking Republicans’ already slim majority in the House.
The vote would require a two-thirds majority to make Santos only the sixth person to ever be expelled from the House of Representatives.
Santos is set to stand trial on his charges on September 9, 2024, just before elections are held for the House and Senate.
Reuters provided some information used in this report.
