For months, grassroots Republicans have been at odds with GOP leadership over Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
A small but strong group of House Republicans has called for his resignation over alleged campaign finance violations and revelations that he fabricated large parts of his personal history. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), however, has called for restraint.
GEORGE SANTOS PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO 13 CHARGES
As Santos’ scandals pile up, the speaker maintained that the freshman lawmaker is innocent until proven guilty, but the defense may say more about McCarthy’s fragile House majority than his desire to maintain the rule of law.
Washington played out a familiar scene Wednesday, though Santos’ behavior took on a new level of seriousness. Republicans, particularly his colleagues in New York, renewed calls for his ouster after his indictment and arrest on federal charges of wire fraud, money laundering and lying to Congress.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas, called for his expulsion.
McCarthy, along with the rest of the House GOP leadership, has refused to do the same, with McCarthy saying he would only ask Santos to resign if a federal court or a separate House Ethics investigation finds wrongdoing .
“He’s going to spend his time on the test and we’re going to find out what the outcome is,” the speaker told reporters on Wednesday.
Santos winning his New York House seat in November was both a headache and an opportunity for McCarthy. Santos was one of four Republicans who flipped seats in New York, handing the speaker, as luck would have it, what turned out to be a four-seat majority.
U.S. Rep. George Santos leaves federal court in Central Islip, NY, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. A 13-count federal indictment unsealed in New York accuses U.S. Rep. George Santos of embezzling campaign funds, falsely receiving unemployment benefits and lying to Congress about his finances. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Seth Wenig/AP
But his victory brought a series of bad headlines weeks before McCarthy even secured the hammer. Beginning in December, stories began to emerge about how Santos apparently lied about where he went to college and his “Jewish” heritage. It also came to light that he was being investigated in Brazil for check fraud.
Santos has admitted to fabricating parts of his resume during the campaign, but pleaded “not guilty” Wednesday to the charges against him. He is accused of misappropriating campaign funds for personal use, illegally claiming thousands in unemployment benefits during the pandemic and lying to Congress about his finances.
McCarthy wants nothing to do with his re-election bid — he told CNN Wednesday that he won’t support him in 2024 — but for now, McCarthy may feel he’s stuck with Santos as he navigates a narrow and unruly majority in the Chamber
He could take a chance and move to oust Santos today—the decision is political, not legal—but winning his district last year was an upset in itself, and a special election wouldn’t be any easier.
Ultimately, the decision to stop shows a pragmatic streak in McCarthy, who, as with Santos, has stood by former President Donald Trump despite his own litany of scandals. Trump was found guilty of assault and defamation in the sexual assault case of author Jean Carroll on the same day it was announced that prosecutors had filed charges against Santos.
Santos emerged as one of McCarthy’s early allies: supporting him through all 15 rounds of voting as McCarthy struggled to lock in support from a dozen conservatives.
McCarthy, for his part, allowed Santos to have committee assignments despite the protests of his colleagues in New York, although he later resigned from those positions.
Since then, however, Santos has proven to be a thorn in McCarthy’s side.
The speaker has had to endure House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) telling him to “clean house,” not to mention complaints from lawmakers like Santos and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) are hurting the GOP Brand.
Yet it’s Santos’ vote on the recent debt ceiling bill that illustrates the biggest liability he poses for McCarthy: his ability to derail the GOP leadership’s legislative agenda.
The stakes couldn’t be higher as McCarthy negotiates a budget deal with President Joe Biden ahead of a summer deadline to raise the debt ceiling.
McCarthy spent weeks trying to bring the president to the negotiating table after an unsuccessful meeting at the White House on February 1. He finally held a second meeting five days after the House passed a debt ceiling bill seen as an opening bid in negotiations with Biden. .
However, the passage of the House was far from certain. Regular GOP backers in the chamber resisted raising the federal debt limit, despite the bill proposing trillions in spending cuts over the next decade.
In addition to McCarthy’s problems, Midwestern lawmakers opposed the repeal of the ethanol tax credit bill. Santos only exacerbated these problems when he opposed the legislation unless it included stricter work requirements for entitlement programs.
Santos, voicing a complaint also raised by other conservative lawmakers, eventually got his way on work requirements, as did Midwestern Republicans. However, he left the lead guessing until the last moment. Santos was the last lawmaker to vote, as if to underline how important it was to McCarthy.
The bill passed narrowly, a stunning victory for McCarthy that, at the same time, underscored a political reality for him: Every member has enormous power with such a small majority.
Santos has refused to resign in the wake of his arrest, provoking outrage from his Republican colleagues.
“The man is deluded,” Rep. Marc Molinaro, one of the New York Republicans who flipped a red seat in November, told the Washington Examiner.
“I said it in December. I said it in January. I’ll say it again. I shouldn’t be a member of Congress,” he added.
But Santos’ challenge helps McCarthy. He narrowly won New York’s 3rd Congressional District last year by 4 points, all before any of his inventions came to light.
If Santos resigns, it would trigger a fierce special election that could cost Republicans one of their four critical seats. The Cook Political Report lists the district’s partisan voting index as D+2.
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For now, most Republicans are awaiting the results of the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Santos, opened to investigate whether he engaged in, among other things, “illegal activities” surrounding his campaign in 2022 and sexual misconduct.
A single member could force a vote to oust Santos under a “privileged” resolution, although members of either party are unlikely to take that step without the leadership’s blessing.
And right now, they don’t have any.
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