With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team
BYE, GEORGE? There’s no denying that Rep. George Santos has dug himself a hole the size of Antarctica. And it looks like there might not be any way out of it this time. After a damning report from the House Ethics Committee that found “substantial evidence” that Santos broke the law and breached House standards of conduct — including extensively misusing funds for botox injections, lavish Atlantic City trips, OnlyFans subscriptions and designer goods — member after member announced Thursday they would vote to expel the New York Republican from the House. (A brief moment of silence for the staffers who had to explain OnlyFans to their bosses.) The math: A prior attempt to expel Santos failed after the floor vote fell short of the necessary two-thirds support. Many of the 232 lawmakers who voted against ousting Santos or voted present on Nov. 1 said they wanted to wait for Ethics to complete its probe. Now that the report is out, evidence suggests a new expulsion push could very well garner the necessary 290 votes. On the prior vote, only 24 Republicans supported booting Santos. Now, according to a POLITICO whip count, at least 40 back an ouster now. Democrats, meanwhile, appear to be quickly coalescing around an expulsion. One big factor driving the switch: The chairman of the Ethics Committee, Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), is not only backing expulsion but plans to file a resolution at tomorrow’s pro forma session setting up a post-Thanksgiving vote. The history: Should the House move against Santos, he would become the sixth House member ever to have been expelled and the first to be sent packing since the late Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) in 2002. Santos’ expulsion is moving faster than Traficant’s did. The colorful and controversial Ohioan remained in office following a May 2001 federal indictment on charges of bribery, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing a false tax return and racketeering. He kept serving through his conviction at trial nearly a year later and a subsequent Ethics Committee trial. Finally, on July 24, 2002, the House voted 420-1 to expel Traficant, with nine members voting present. Rep. Gary Condit (D-Calif.), who was under a cloud at the time due to the Chandra Levy disappearance, voted no. What’s next: It has been only 11 months since the New York Times first brought attention to Santos’ questionable history and barely six months since he was indicted on federal charges. His trial isn’t set to start till September. Things are coming quickly to a head because the Ethics Committee broke with its usual practice of deferring to law enforcement and fast-tracked its own investigation in light of a damning public reporting about Santos’ myriad deceptions. While Guest has endorsed Santos’ removal, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders have yet to announce their position. Johnson previously indicated he doesn’t support booting Santos before he stands trial, but that was before the committee concluded Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit” and wove a “constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience.” Coming attractions: Santos announced Thursday he’s not running for re-election, perhaps to cool some of the fire he’s getting from his own House colleagues. But there’s little sign that will stem the tide for expulsion. That could set up a special election in Santos’ Long Island district as soon as next spring, with Democrats eager to flip the seat back into their column and further narrow the GOP’s already tiny majority. One other thing: Santos will get a chance to address his colleagues before any new expulsion vote. Traficant famously made the most of the opportunity, delivering a rambling hourlong speech that put an exclamation point on his nine-term career. We at Huddle can only imagine what Santos might do with his potential last moments on the floor. — Daniella Diaz
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