House Democrat introduces resolution to boot George Santos from Congress

New York Republican Rep. George Santos faces a fresh effort to remove him from Congress amid his myriad legal woes and scandals, with a freshman House lawmaker introducing a resolution to boot him from the lower chamber on Tuesday.

"Resolved, That, pursuant to Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States, Representative George Santos, be, and he hereby is, expelled from the House of Representatives," reads the resolution from California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, per CNN.

Garcia in February unveiled a resolution to oust Santos with the support of New York Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres and Daniel Goldman; Vermont Rep. Becca Balint, and Illinois Rep. Eric Sorenson.

Santos, who flipped a competitive district in the 2022 midterms, has since come under fire for fabricating large portions of his resume as well as alleged criminal activity. The DOJ charged him with 13 counts last week, including wire fraud, money laundering, and stealing public funds. He has pleaded not guilty.

Santos has refused calls to resign and has filed to run for reelection. House Republicans have largely declined to support his ouster or demand his resignation.

Garcia's resolution, however, could force the GOP to vote on the matter, should enough Republicans opt against tabling the motion. Santos's expulsion would require a two-thirds vote of the lower chamber, however, and a vote is not expected to succeed in removing him.

Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority in the House and are mired in a standoff with the White House over raising the debt ceiling. Accordingly, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy cannot afford to lose the support of many of his own lawmakers.

Even should the motion be tabled, the resolution will force Republicans to go on the record in some capacity as to their positions on ousting the New York lawmaker. 

Santos is currently facing a House Ethics Committee investigation and McCarthy has indicated that he prefers to wait on its outcome before deciding how best to deal with him.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.