Embattled Republican Rep faces expulsion from the US House of Representatives next week in a vote called by members of his own party.
Congressman Anthony D’Esposito took to the House floor on Thursday to formally demand the vote of expulsion and read the resolution.
It comes after prosecutors filed 23 charges against Mr Santos earlier this month – including identity theft.
Mr Santos denies the charges and has insisted he will not resign.
But he has come under increasing pressure to quit the chamber, and several other Republicans from his home state of New York said they would table the resolution earlier this month.
Mr D’Esposito was joined by New York Republican colleagues Marc Molinaro, Nick LaLota, and Mike Lawler in calling for Mr Santos’ ousting on Thursday evening.
“George Santos is not fit to serve his constituents as a United States representative,” Mr D’Esposito’s resolution read.
He later referred to Mr Santos a “conman” and a “stain on the House” in a social media post. He and his colleagues cite the indictments and investigations into Mr Santos’ conduct as justification for expulsion.
But in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Santos wrote that “I’m not resigning” and said he is “entitled to due process and not a predetermined outcome as some are seeking”.
It is extremely rare for the House of Representatives to expel one of their own. The US Constitution requires two-thirds vote of the House, rather than a simple majority.
Only five lawmakers have ever been expelled, according to the US House Archives. Three of those men were forced out during the US Civil War in the 1860s because of their Confederate allegiance.
Just two congressmen have been expelled in the past four decades, both after being convicted on federal charges.
But Mr Santos’ scandals are some of the most serious faced by a member of Congress in recent years.
He has been accused of lying about his college degrees and his work experience; violating campaign finance and conflict of interest laws; falsely claiming his grandparents survived the Holocaust; and creating a fake animal charity that he used to siphon away cash meant for a veteran’s dying dog.
Earlier this month, one of Mr Santos’ top campaign staffers pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, after she was charged for submitting fake campaign finance reports.
And federal prosecutors have charged Mr Santos with wire fraud, identity theft, lying to Congress, money laundering, and credit card among other crimes.
He currently faces a total of 23 federal charges – 13 from an initial indictment, and an additional 10 that came in a superseding indictment.
All four Republican congressmen who are seeking to expel Mr Santos are from districts that Joe Biden, a Democrat, won in the 2020 election. That means their re-election chances are more precarious than those lawmakers in safely partisan districts.
But Mr Santos has been allowed to remain in Congress until now, despite damaging reports and indictments.
Republicans hold the US House of Representatives with an extremely slim majority, meaning they need every vote on their roster in order to pass agenda items. If Mr Santos is expelled, they will lose one more.
They party has already passed on one opportunity to oust him from Congress.
Democrats introduced a similar resolution to force an expulsion vote in May, but since their party was in the minority and they could not draw support from Republicans, it failed.
Republicans instead voted to refer Mr Santos to the House Ethics Committee.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
