Rep. George Santos says he expects to be kicked out of Congress as expulsion vote looms
NEW YORK — Rep. George Santos said he expects to be expelled from Congress following a scathing report from the House of Representatives Ethics Committee, which found substantial evidence of law violations by the New York Republican.
In a defiant speech Friday, sprinkled with taunts and obscenities, directed at his colleagues in Congress, Santos insisted he was “not going anywhere.” But he acknowledged that at least his time in Congress could soon come to an end.
“I know I will be expelled if this expulsion resolution comes up,” he said during a conversation on X Spaces on Friday evening. “I’ve calculated it over and over again and it doesn’t really look right.”
The comments came a week after Republican House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest introduced a resolution to expel Santos once the body returns from the Thanksgiving holiday.
Although Santos has survived two expulsion votes, many of his colleagues who previously opposed the effort now say they support it, citing the findings of the commission’s months-long investigation into a wide range of alleged misconduct by Santos.
The report found that Santos used campaign funds for personal purposes, such as purchases from high-end retailers and websites with adult content, and then caused the campaign to file false or incomplete reports.
“Representative Santos attempted to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his candidacy for the House of Representatives for his own personal financial gain,” investigators wrote. They noted that he did not cooperate with the report and repeatedly “evaded” direct requests for information.
On Friday, Santos said he did not want to discuss the details of the report, which he said was “defamatory” and “intended to force me out of my seat.” Any defense of his conduct could be used against him in the ongoing criminal case brought by federal prosecutors.
Instead, Santos struck a contemplative tone during the three-hour livestream, tracing his journey from Republican “it girl” to “the Mary Magdalene of the United States Congress.” And he lashed out at his colleagues in Congress, accusing them of misconduct — such as voting while drunk — that he said was far worse than anything he had done.
“They all act like they are in ivory towers with white pointy hats and they are untouchable,” he said. “Within the ranks of the United States Congress there are a lot of criminals, there are people from all kinds of timid backgrounds.”
His decision not to seek re-election, he said, was not because of outside pressure, but because of his frustration with the “sheer arrogance” of his colleagues.
“These people need to understand that it’s done when I say it’s done, when I want it done, not when they want it done,” he added. “That’s kind of where we are right now.”