As November got underway, Rep. George Santos faced an unpleasant expulsion resolution — his second — pushed by some of his fellow New York Republicans. The scandal-plagued congressman was nevertheless optimistic that the vote would go his way, and he was right: 179 members voted to kick him out of Congress, far short of the two-thirds majority needed.
There were a variety of factors at play. As we discussed soon after, for some members, it was simply too early: Santos is facing several criminal charges, but he’s pleaded not guilty and hasn’t yet been convicted of anything. For others, there was a fear of setting a precedent that might someday be used against themselves or their allies.
But perhaps most important to many Republicans was the fact they simply don’t want to see their tiny majority in the House get even smaller. Santos saw that as effectively an insurance policy that would extend his career.
At least, that’s how the landscape looked on Nov. 1. As the month nears its end, the prolific liar’s optimism is now gone — and for good reason. Axios reported over the weekend:
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) said Friday he won’t resign from Congress but acknowledged he will likely be expelled as he lobbed salacious accusations at colleagues and called the chair of the Ethics Committee a “p***y”.
If the New York Republican were simply dealing with the criminal charges, he’d likely persevere on Capitol Hill, at least until his case has been adjudicated. A majority of House members simply weren’t prepared to act ahead of a conviction.
But Santos’ indictment is no longer his only problem. As my MSNBC colleague Clarissa-Jan Lim recently reported, the House Ethics Committee issued a brutal, 56-page report on Nov. 16 — after members had already begun their Thanksgiving break — concluding that the freshman lawmaker “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” including using…
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