GOP anxiety surrounds potential George Santos expulsion
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Early retirements don't appear to be deterring GOP lawmakers from ousting embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from Congress, despite top Republicans quietly worrying about shrinking their razor-thin majority.
Why it matters: Republicans are facing more potential early exits, including mounting speculation over whether former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will leave before the 2024 elections.
- Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) recently announced he plans to step down from his seat early to accept a position running Youngstown State University.
- Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins (N.Y.) is also set to leave early and Republican Celeste Maloy won a Utah special election, which has given Republicans some breathing room — but their anxiety remains.
- McCarthy's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Zoom in: House Republicans have already struggled to pass certain pieces of party-line legislation due to fractures within the conference.
- Dueling resolutions — including one led by House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) — emerged shortly after a scathing House Ethics report accusing Santos of misusing campaign funds for shopping sprees at Hermes and Ferragamo, botox and Onlyfans.
- While Santos survived two attempts to boot him from his seat, a slew of members said they he should be removed, arguing that the Ethics report serves as Congress' marking of due process.
- Santos has also been indicted on multiple federal charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.
What they're saying: Multiple sources have noted that there have been discussions over the best way to proceed and concerns about losing a Republican member, but some argue that the gravity of the allegations that emerged in the report warrant his removal.
- The problem is a lot of these guys will vote on principle not politics," one lawmaker said.
- "The paste appears to be out of the tube," another member who plans to vote in favor of his ouster said.
- "I don't see any future resignations impacting the vote on Santos," a third member added.
- "I think he's done," a fourth told Axios.
The big picture: Santos himself has acknowledged that the odds are not in his favor, but has asserted that he will not resign.
- "I know I'm going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor. I've done the math over and over, and it doesn't look really good," he said on Friday.
- Expelling a member of Congress requires a 2/3 vote.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters in Sarasota on Monday that he has "spoken to Congressman Santos at some length over the holiday and talked with him about his options. But we'll have to see. It's not yet determined, but we'll be talking about that when we get back tomorrow."
