Rep. George Santos plans to force a vote on a Democratic lawmaker who has been recently convicted of a crime, saying that attempts to boot him from Congress are bullying and violate precedent.
The embattled New York Republican intends to force a House vote on expelling Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York. Mr. Santos notes that Mr. Bowman, unlike himself, has pleaded guilty to and been convicted of a criminal violation — sounding a false fire alarm during a House vote.
Mr. Bowman, a member of the House’s far-left “Squad,” pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in October after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. He paid a $1,000 fine, received three months of probation and was required to make a formal apology for his actions.
“But Jamaal Bowman gets a pass,” Mr. Santos said. “That’s why today at noon, I’m going to be introducing a privileged motion for expulsion of convicted and guilty pleaded Congressman Jamaal Bowman and I stand there. I think that that’s consistency.”
Mr. Bowman said “no one” takes Mr. Santos seriously.
“This is just another meaningless stunt in his long history of cons, antics and outright fraud,” the Democrat said.
Mr. Santos faces 23 federal charges for wire fraud, theft of public funds and money laundering, among others.
His third expulsion vote could come as soon as Thursday afternoon, per a procedural move by House Republicans and Democrats who filed separate resolutions to boot the lawmaker. However, House leaders have indicated they would prefer to have the vote Friday.
Mr. Santos has vowed to not resign from Congress but has said he won’t seek reelection.
He has remained defiant, promising to file a “slew of complaints” against members and the House Ethics Committee, which presented a bruising report against him that seemingly changed the minds of dozens of lawmakers who previously had voted to save Mr. Santos during the last attempt to expel him.
Mr. Santos decried the ethics report, saying it was “littered with opinion and hyperbole.” He also went after House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, Mississippi Republican, who he said did not even have the fortitude to force a vote on his own resolution for expulsion.
Addressing a crowd of journalists and cameras at a press conference that he called in the morning, Mr. Santos said that attempts to expel him are thinly veiled attempts to get him to resign.
“So the reality of it is, it’s all theater,” Mr. Santos said. “Theater for the cameras and microphones for the American people.”
Only five members of Congress have been expelled from the institution: three for being a part of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and two who had been convicted before getting the boot.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.