(RepublicanJournal.org) – A controversial Republican lawmaker has survived an attempt to kick him out of Congress. Representative George Santos (R-NY) only took office in January, but since then he’s faced constant criticism over dishonesty and criminality. Still, he found enough supporters to hang on to his seat — for now, anyway.
Santos was elected as congressman for New York’s 3rd District at last November’s midterms, but before he even took office the New York Times reported that much of his resume seemed to be invented — including key details like his education and employment histories, and even where his grandparents came from; he claimed his mother’s parents were Holocaust survivors from Ukraine, when they were really from Brazil.
He’s claimed to be Jewish but is actually Catholic, and said his mother had survived the 9/11 attacks when she hadn’t been in the US since 1999. He claimed to have a bachelor’s degree and an MBA but never graduated from any college. More seriously it turns out Santos had been charged with check fraud in Brazil but didn’t show up in court.
As issue after issue appeared, Santos’s House colleagues got increasingly fed up with him. Democrats launched a House investigation against him in May; in October, six of his fellow freshman Republicans introduced an expulsion resolution. That finally came to a vote on November 1 — and failed on a vote of 179 for and 213 against. Most of his supporters were Democrats, along with 24 Republicans; 32 Democrats voted with Republicans to expel him.
Because an expulsion resolution needs a two-thirds supermajority, Santos is safe for now, but he’s not out of the woods yet. In mid-November the House Ethics Committee will release the findings of its investigation; Representative Anthony D’Esposito, who introduced the recently defeated resolution, told journalists on November 1 “We’ll go from there.” If the report isn’t favorable to Santos he’s likely to face another expulsion attempt soon.
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