House to snap back with expulsion, censure votes after weeks of paralysis

WASHINGTON (CN) — It’s business as usual for the reanimated House, as lawmakers are set to consider a set of resolutions this week that could see one member of Congress reprimanded and another removed entirely.

The House finally ended a nearly monthlong hiatus last week after House Republicans elected Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson as House speaker. Johnson’s ascent put to bed three weeks of GOP infighting, which saw the caucus fail on three separate occasions to coalesce around a candidate to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

With its leadership crisis in the rearview mirror, the lower chamber is off to work once again — and congressional Republicans are looking to clean house, beginning with a resolution aimed at expelling New York Representative George Santos.

Santos, who was hit Oct. 10 with a list of federal charges including wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft, faces a potential ouster at the hands of his Republican colleagues, led by fellow Empire State Representative Anthony D’Esposito.

D’Esposito has long been a vocal critic of Santos, who has faced accusations that he lied about his background and experience while running to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District in 2022. D’Esposito and a cadre of New York Republicans tried to have Santos expelled from Congress in January, but their effort faded thanks to lackluster support from GOP leadership, including then-Speaker McCarthy.

The lawmakers on Thursday unveiled their second attempt to boot Santos from Congress, just a day before the embattled congressman pleaded not guilty to 23 criminal charges in a Long Island federal court.

“While George Santos is entitled to his day in court to plead his innocence, the people of New York’s 3rd Congressional District deserve a representative who is solely focused on serving the public and not spending the majority of their time combatting 23 federal charges,” D’Esposito wrote in a statement Thursday. “We must remove this conman from Congress.”

D’Esposito introduced his resolution as a privileged measure, forcing a House vote within two business days, or as early as Tuesday.

Santos, meanwhile, has said that he will not resign from office amid his legal troubles, writing in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he is “entitled to due process and not a predetermined outcome as some are seeking.”

The New York Republican has said that he will run for reelection in 2024.

Santos isn’t the only member who may face judgment from fellow lawmakers this week. The House is also set to consider a resolution from Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene that, if approved, would censure Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib.

Greene, one of the GOP’s most conservative members, has accused Tlaib of “antisemitic activity” after the lawmaker gave remarks during a protest on Capitol Hill last week, during which demonstrators called for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hamas government of Gaza.

Hamas forces attacked Israel Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and taking hundreds of hostages back to the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. The Israeli government, led by hard-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has responded with weeks of airstrikes in Gaza which have also killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions. Israeli forces are also reportedly readying for a ground invasion which threatens to widen the already brutal conflict.

Greene’s resolution refers to the Oct. 18 protest as an “insurrection,” in a clear attempt to draw parallels between the pro-cease-fire demonstrators and rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. Five people died during the Jan. 6 riots and hundreds were injured; last week’s protest recorded no casualties.

Tlaib, meanwhile, has called the Georgia Republican’s resolution “unhinged” and derided it as both Islamophobic and detrimental to the efforts of Jewish peace advocates, some of whom helped organize last week’s protest.

“I will not be bullied, I will not be dehumanized and I will not be silenced,” the Michigan Democrat wrote in a statement Thursday, adding that she will continue to call for a cease-fire as well as humanitarian aid for Gaza and the return of American hostages held by Hamas.

“I will continue to work for a just and lasting peace that upholds the human rights and dignity of all people, and ensures that no person, no child has to suffer or live in fear of violence,” Tlaib said.

Greene’s resolution was also introduced as privileged, meaning that the measure could get a Tuesday floor vote alongside the proposed Santos expulsion.

In the House, a censure vote serves largely as a form of public humiliation for lawmakers who their colleagues feel have acted in a way deserving of rebuke but whose conduct is not serious enough to warrant expulsion. If a censure is approved by majority vote, the offending member must stand in the House well while the speaker reads their conduct aloud.

The lower chamber’s Republican majority has already wielded censure against a Democratic member this year. The GOP in June voted to censure California Congressman Adam Schiff, who they claimed misled the public while investigating former President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.

Meanwhile, newly minted Speaker Johnson said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday that the House this week may also consider a bill containing aid for Israel. The standalone bill, which would split up a proposed aid package for both Israel and Ukraine, is aimed at shoring up support among House Republicans who are increasingly skeptical of U.S. assistance to Kyiv.

The lower chamber is also facing a looming fiscal deadline, as a stopgap budget bill negotiated by former Speaker McCarthy is set to expire Nov. 17.  Lawmakers will either need to negotiate a package of spending bills or pass an extension on that spending pause to avoid a government shutdown.

As the House’s new top lawmaker, Johnson has said that he will seek another budget patch that will keep the government funded either through January or as late as April, depending on the appetite of his caucus.

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