The effort to kick Santos out of the House was led by his fellow New York Republicans, who are anxious to distance themselves from a colleague infamous for fabricating his life story and accused of stealing from donors, lying to Congress and receiving unemployment benefits he did not deserve.
Some Republicans, however, say they have seen enough of Santos and will support the expulsion effort. “Mr. Santos is a stain on this institution and not fit to serve his constituents in the House of Representatives," D'Esposito said. “They don’t care any more about integrity or morality or the reputation of this institution than they did in May when they voted to protect Mr. Santos," Goldman said."They just care about their reelection in one year when they know that their support for George Santos is going to be a problem.”
Johnson, who took the speaker's gavel last week, has made it clear he would prefer not to oust Santos at this point, despite the many charges against the congressman, as Johnson struggles to control a very slim majority. Democrats also could be more divided than they were during the previous expulsion effort against Santos. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., called it a complicated vote because she would like to wait for the committee to release its findings first.