House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., filed a resolution Friday morning to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress.
The resolution comes a day after the committee released a scathing report that concluded there is “substantial evidence” Santos “violated federal criminal laws,” including using campaign funds for personal purposes and filing false campaign reports.
“The evidence uncovered in the Ethics Committee’s Investigative Subcommittee investigation is more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment, is expulsion,” Guest said in a statement Friday. “So, separate from the Committee process and my role as Chairman, I have filed an expulsion resolution.”
The resolution stated that due to “his egregious violations,” Santos is “not fit to serve as a Member of the United States House of Representatives”.
The week following Thanksgiving is the earliest possible time for a vote on the expulsion. Nov. 28 marks the House’s return.
Regarding the expulsion resolution, a request for comment was not immediately answered by Santos’ office.
Santos declared on Thursday that he will not run for office again next year following the publication of the Ethics Report.
The Ethics panel found a number of suspicious campaign expenditures it said did not appear to have a “campaign nexus,” according to the report. The committee’s report detailed spending by Santos at Hermès and Ferragamo stores and on Airbnb while he was on a Hamptons weekend getaway, Botox treatments, and OnlyFans, a subscription-based site often used to host pornography.
Earlier this month, Santos survived an effort to expel him from Congress. While 179 members voted in favour of expulsion, 213 voted against, and 19 voted present. Two-thirds of lawmakers are needed to remove a member from the House.
Politicians have expressed their desire to hold off until the Ethics Committee’s conclusion on its Santos inquiry is published.
