WASHINGTON, May 18 (Prensa Latina) A referral of a resolution to the Ethics Committee to expel Lawmaker George Santos from the US House of Representatives ended Democrats’ demand for a vote today.
Republicans in that legislature blocked the motion of the opposition caucus that sought to remove Santos from his seat, agreeing instead to refer the matter to a committee while they conducted several investigations into his conduct.
The congressman currently faces 13 federal charges of fraud, money laundering and other crimes, and prosecutors allege he stole thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and fraudulently collected unemployment benefits.
The New York Republican, who also lied about several aspects of his background while seeking to run for the legislature, has pleaded not guilty and recently announced he will run for re-election next year.
Last Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia introduced a measure to expel Santos from the House of Representatives as a “privileged” resolution, that is, it had to be put to a vote in the next 48 hours.
That’s when Republicans took a different tack, voting to refer the bill to the House Ethics Committee, which opened a formal investigation into Santos in March.
That vote, which required a simple majority, passed by a margin of 221-204, according to a CBS News report.
This tactic gave other conservatives protection from being forced to score on whether an impeached New York congressman should keep his seat, especially when that party group had a slim four-seat majority in the House and could not afford to lose any of its members.
Expelling a member requires the support of two-thirds of that body, which means dozens of GOP members must side with Democrats to successfully remove Santos.
Only five members of the House of Representatives have been removed from office in American history.
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