Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) shared on Monday that he has been in contact with Rep. George Santos (R-NY) ahead of a possible expulsion vote following a scathing House Ethics Committee report.
Speaking to reporters during a trip to Sarasota, Florida, Johnson noted that he had “spoken to Congressman Santos at some length over the holiday and talked to him about his options.”
VIDEO: Speaker Johnson tells reporters he spoke to Rep. George Santos "at some length" over the Thanksgiving holiday and "talked to him about his options"
Santos could become the first member of Congress expelled in over 2 decades.
Video via @FBSaunders / @scrippsnews Florida pic.twitter.com/aKvgZPsdY2
— Nathaniel Reed (@ReedReports) November 27, 2023
On the prospect of an expulsion vote this week, Johnson said “it remains to be seen,” adding that lawmakers will be discussing the matter when they return from the Thanksgiving recess on Tuesday.
Voters elected Santos to his first term representing a Long Island district last year, helping Republicans win a narrow majority in the House. But controversy soon followed related to the congressman’s candor and finances, spurring multiple inquiries and growing pressure for him to leave office.
Santos has since been dealt 23 federal charges — including aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy — to which he pleaded not guilty. And then, earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee released a report saying investigators found evidence of Santos violating House rules and criminal laws.
Though Santos criticized the congressional inquiry as a political “smear,” he announced soon after the House Ethics report’s release that he would not seek re-election while declaring, “I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed.”
Santos survived multiple attempts by colleagues to expel him from the House earlier this year, but that may change with House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) announcing another expulsion resolution and growing number of lawmakers saying they would vote for New York Republican’s ouster.
Expulsion from the House, which has only happened a handful of times throughout U.S. history, requires a two-thirds majority vote to succeed.
During an hours-long X Spaces conversation on Friday night, Santos reportedly insisted that he would not resign, claiming, “[I’d] admit [to] everything that’s on that report” by doing so. Yet Santos also predicted that he will be expelled from the House if another expulsion resolution goes to the floor for a vote. “I’ve done the math over and over, and it doesn’t look really good,” he said.