Rep. Santos faces immediate expulsion from House seat

Embattled Representative George Santos is set to face expulsion from the House as soon as Wednesday, possibly becoming the first congressman in more than 20 years to be removed in a motion brought forth by Republicans from his own delegation.

But unlike the five members throughout US history who were kicked out by an overwhelming majority of the House, Santos would be the first to be immediately ousted without having been convicted of a crime.

Establishing such a precedent has prompted members of both parties to seriously weigh the consequences of expelling Santos, who has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges in New York that include fraud, money laundering, falsifying records, and aggravated identity theft.

The House has faced a turbulent several years that have featured a deterioration of civility and decorum between the parties, resulting in rash decisions to immediately condemn lawmakers or call for their ouster.

A swath of lawmakers worry that removing Santos ignores the presumption of innocence and would set a precedent that expulsion is a standard option for reprimand at a time when retribution has become the norm in the House.

“Anybody that’s been awake, that’s been reading the newspaper and looking at Twitter understands every reason as to why he should be [ousted],’’ said Representative Anthony D’Esposito, a New York Republican who formally introduced his resolution under privilege to force speedy consideration of Santos’s removal by the House.

But it remains unclear whether Santos will be successfully ousted given that expulsion requires approval from twothirds of House lawmakers voting — or 282 of the chamber’s 423 current members, if all are present.