WASHINGTON — A resolution to expel lying Long Island Rep. George Santos from the House of Representatives was introduced Thursday following months of calls for his resignation after he admitted making up nearly everything on his resume during his successful 2022 campaign.
“There’s nothing that we know about him that we know is truthful. He’s lied literally about his entire background,” said the resolution’s sponsor, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), “This is an unprecedented moment, and the House should come together to expel him.”
Santos, 34, admitted to The Post in December that he had lied about much of his purported background — from graduating Baruch College and working for financial giants like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs to claims that his grandparents escaped the Holocaust and his mother died in the 9/11 terror attacks.
A resolution to expel Long Island Rep. George Santos from the House of Representatives was introduced Thursday. REUTERSWhile the resolution currently only has the support of Democrats, Garcia said he will work to recruit the support of “several Republicans” to boot Santos.
“There’s been numerous Republicans that have called for his expulsion or resignation from Congress,” he said. “It is time for him to go. We gave him plenty of time to resign and he has chosen not to do so.”
House rules state that a member can be expelled with the agreement of two-thirds of those present and voting. So far, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has ruled out taking serious action against Santos beyond asking him to step down from two House committees while a probe by the House Ethics Committee plays out.
Santos admitted to The Post in December that he had lied about much of his purported background. REUTERSSouth Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres, who along with Brooklyn and Manhattan Rep. Dan Goldman filed an ethics complaint against Santos last month, told reporters that “excluding a future George Santos” is the “kind of precedent we want to set.”
“The majority of House Republicans in New York have called for George Santos to resign,” he said. “His colleagues want nothing to do with him. His constituents want nothing to do with them.”
To illustrate his point, Torres noted the full New York congressional delegation recently met with Gov. Kathy Hochul — but “George Santos was not invited.”
House rules state that a member can be expelled with the agreement of two-thirds of those present and voting. Getty Images“He’s persona non grata to every single Republican except the leadership that’s protecting him,” Torres said, adding: “We’re here to send a clear message that if Kevin McCarthy refuses to hold George Santos accountable, we will.
“We are going to expel George Santos because he has a deep rot at the very core of the United States Congress.”
Santos’ fellow Long Island Republican Rep. Nick LaLota called last month for the Federal Election Commission or Justice Department to freeze Santos’ campaign funds as federal investigators examine whether he violated campaign finance law.
“Congressman Santos fraudulently solicited these funds and Santos shouldn’t be allowed to drain his campaign account while multiple authorities investigate the very fraud that induced these contributions,” he said in a statement Jan. 15.
Other New York Republican congressmen who have called for Santos to resign include Anthony D’Esposito, Nick Langworthy, Brandon Williams, Marc Molinaro and Mike Lawler.
Many Congress members have called for Santos to resign. REUTERSThe resolution comes two days after Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told Santos on the House floor ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address that he did not “belong here.”
“I don’t know the exact words I said. He shouldn’t have been there. Look, he’s a sick puppy. He shouldn’t have been there,” Romney told reporters after the address.
Tom Rust, the ethics panel’s chief counsel and staff director, declined to comment on the panel’s probe of Santos when reached by The Post on Thursday.
