George Santos to Be Expelled From Congress? House Democrats Move to Force a Vote

Embattled Republican Representative George Santos of New York may be expelled from Congress soon as House Democrats took steps to force a vote on kicking him out of office.

According to the Associated Press, even though the Republicans only have a small majority, with a few other Republicans calling to expel Santos, the effort is expected to be defeated.

However, it will place Republicans in an uncomfortable position by making them take a stand against an indicted party member.

Santos recently admitted to stealing checks in Brazil and illegally using them under a false name. However, he managed to sign a deal with Brazilian authorities to drop the criminal charges in the 2008 case.

In the US, Santos still faces federal charges for embezzling money from his campaign, falsely receiving unemployment funds, and lying to Congress regarding his finances. He has since denied all the charges and has pleaded not guilty.

Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, introduced a resolution to expel the Republican lawmaker back in February, though it needed the approval of a two-thirds majority to pass.

Garcia brought up the measure again on Tuesday under a process that gives lawmakers until Thursday to deal with it.

Republicans Will Have to Break With George Santos or Defend Him

The measure left by Robert Garcia now leaves Republicans with a crucial choice that could overall end badly for party members.

Should they choose to break with George Santos, they could force a snap election in New York and have their majority go smaller, or they could defend Santos but get backlash from many of their constituents over supporting a known fraud.

Garcia spoke with reporters and said, "The Republicans in the House are actually going to have to go on record and make a decision about if they're actually going to stand for truth and accountability, or if they're going to stand with someone that's clearly a liar."

The Guardian reported that the Republican majority is currently paper-thin as they only lead by five seats. Should Santos' seat become vacant, that majority will become even slimmer.

That would also become perilous for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The California Republican barely received enough votes to secure his speakership, with Santos being one of those who voted for him.

On Tuesday, Garcia told reporters that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is also involved in the process of expelling George Santos.

House GOP Leaders Reassure George Santos Critics

George Santos is unpopular in the Republican party, though many were forced to stick with him because of the slim majority.

Soon after the Democrats moved to vote on expelling the controversial congressman, Republican leaders held a private meeting with some of Santos' biggest critics within the party.

According to Politico, Kevin McCarthy reportedly told the anti-Santos Republicans that they had to do this properly and laid out three options for handling the expulsion issue.

That includes referring the proposal to the Republican-controlled House Ethics Committee and tabling the process entirely or bringing it to the floor for a vote.

Either way, McCarthy warned that all these options could risk dividing Republicans further and brought up the modern precedent that they should wait for the House Ethics Committee report or a criminal conviction.

One of those Republicans, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that this meeting was more about the process and not saving Santos from expulsion.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: House Democrat Introduces Resolution to Expel Santos From Congress - From CBS New York