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WASHINGTON (CN) — As the House readies this week to vote on a second resolution aimed at expelling Representative George Santos, the lawmaker signaled Thursday that he was not going to go quietly.
“If the House wants to start a dangerous precedent and expel me, that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body,” Santos told reporters during a press conference in the shadow of the Capitol.
The New York Republican is facing removal after a congressional ethics investigation concluded that he lied to federal election regulators and spent campaign funds on personal expenses. Santos has blasted the probe as politically motivated and maintains his innocence.
Standing in the blistering cold Thursday morning, Santos announced that, ahead of his expulsion vote scheduled for Friday, he would introduce a similar motion to remove New York Democrat Jamaal Bowman from the chamber.
Bowman made headlines in September after security footage emerged appearing to show him pulling a fire alarm in one of the House office buildings. The lawmaker has since apologized and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine; congressional Republicans ultimately decided not to pursue further action against him.
Santos, however, framed the House’s response to Bowman as a consistency issue.
“Had that been any other person … we all know that person would have been charged with obstructing a congressional hearing,” he said. “Let’s hold him accountable, but let’s make sure that we do it with the precedent of the House.”
In a statement Thursday, Bowman fired back at Santos, calling his proposed expulsion measure “just another meaningless stunt in his long history of cons, antics and outright fraud.”
“No one in Congress, or anywhere in America, takes soon-to-be former Congressman George Santos seriously,” Bowman wrote.
Meanwhile, Santos used Thursday’s news conference to rehash his grievances with efforts to remove him from the House. The lawmaker reiterated his claim that his expulsion would set a precedent allowing Congress to remove members who have not been found guilty of any crime.
“This will haunt them in the future,” Santos said, “where mere allegations are sufficient to have members removed from office who were duly elected by their people in their respective states and districts.”
The New York Republican took aim at the congressional ethics probe, which he accused of publishing “a slanderous report … littered in hyperbole.”
Responding to questions from reporters, Santos once again dismissed the notion that he would resign before House votes on his expulsion.
“This is bullying,” he said of the vote. “If I leave, they win.”
Santos, who has in recent weeks suggested that other, unnamed members of Congress have engaged in scandalous or otherwise unethical behavior, also said Thursday that he plans to file “a slew of complaints” with the House “to make sure that we keep the playing field even.”
The lawmaker did not specify exactly who he would file those complaints against, opting instead to demand that members of the media do the digging themselves.
As for what will become of him after the expulsion vote, Santos appeared to be keeping his options open. Although he has said he will not seek reelection in 2024, the lawmaker didn’t rule out a future run for office. Members who are removed from Congress are not barred from running again.
“I’m 35 years old,” Santos said. “This doesn’t mean that it’s goodbye forever.”
It remains to be seen whether lawmakers will successfully vote to remove the embattled New York Republican this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he has “serious reservations” about the move, and several GOP members of Congress have said that they will vote against the resolution.
The House earlier this month voted not to expel the lawmaker, with many Democrats crossing the aisle to vote alongside Republicans.
While an expulsion may not mark the end of Santos’ political career, the litany of federal criminal charges he’s facing might do the trick. The Justice Department in October indicted the lawmaker on 23 counts, including campaign finance violations, identity theft and money laundering. Santos has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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