Republican elected official George Santos, whose lies have made headlines in the American political and media world since his election at the end of 2022, will keep, at least temporarily, his seat in the House of Representatives, after the failure on Wednesday November 1 of a vote to exclude him.
An inveterate liar, indicted at the federal level for defrauding his donors, accused of money laundering and electronic fraud… The 35-year-old elected official, who admitted to having lied to voters by inventing entire sections of his life, ranging from a university degree to professional experiences in major American banks, was under threat of eviction. The motion to exclude it was rejected Wednesday evening in plenary session, receiving 179 votes in favor against 213 votes against.
With Republicans holding only a narrow majority of four seats in the 435-seat House of Representatives, losing this seat would have made passing legislation even more difficult for Republicans and their new Speaker, Mike Johnson.
Many elected officials, including his Republican colleagues in New York State, have already distanced themselves from Mr. Santos, also accused of having used his donors’ credit cards and of having received unemployment benefits during the pandemic. even though he had no right to do so.
“We must expel this crook from the people’s chamber”
The ethics committee of the House of Representatives launched an investigation into the elected official in February but has not yet released its conclusions. Commission leaders said Tuesday it would announce its “next course of action” in the case by November 17.
Wishing for a quicker outcome, New York elected official Anthony D’Esposito tabled a bill last week allowing George Santos to be expelled if adopted by a two-thirds majority of the representatives present.
“We must expel this crook from the people’s chamber”declared Mr. D’Esposito in a message published on X, the former Twitter.
The House of Representatives has already excluded one of its own in the past. The latest example being Ohio Democrat James Traficant, ousted in 2002 on ten charges, including corruption.