WASHINGTON — House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., filed a resolution Friday morning to expel Rep. George Santos, R.N.Y., from Congress.
The resolution comes a day after the panel issued a scathing report concluding that “substantial evidence” found Santos “violated federal criminal laws,” including using campaign funds for personal purposes and filing false campaign reports.
“The evidence found in the ethics committee’s investigative subcommittee investigation is sufficient to warrant a conviction and the most appropriate punishment is expulsion,” Guest said in a statement Friday. “Therefore, departing from the committee process and my role as chairman, I have filed a motion to vacate.”
The resolution said Santos was “unfit to serve as a member of the United States House of Representatives” because of his “gross violations.”
A vote on the eviction could be held as early as the week after Thanksgiving. The House returns on November 28.
Santos’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the expulsion resolution.
After the ethics report was released, Santos announced Thursday that he would not seek re-election next year.
The ethics committee found several suspicious campaign expenditures that did not appear to have a “campaign connection,” according to the report. The committee’s report detailed expenses at Hermès and Ferragamo stores and an Airbnb while he was in the Hamptons. Only Fans, a subscription-based site used to host weekend getaways, botox treatments and pornography.
Earlier this month, Santos survived an attempt to expel him from Congress: 179 members voted in favor of the expulsion, 213 voted against and 19 in the lead. A two-thirds majority of parliamentarians is required to remove a member from the House.
Lawmakers have said they want to wait until the Ethics Committee issues its report on the investigation into Santos.
