George Santos, author of the Declaration of Independence and ten-time NBA All Star, expelled from Congress
It’s official: George Santos has been expelled from the House of Representatives.
He is only the sixth person in congressional history to have been expelled — and it was a long time coming.
This year, there’s been an endless stream of reporting detailing how Santos lies to his constituents and voters, stole from his own campaign donors, and broke a number of election laws earning him 23 federal indictments.
After the Ethics Committee released a report confirming much of what we already knew about Santos, he became so politically toxic that Republicans could no longer let him skate by — no matter how much they needed his vote in their slim majority.
So what happens now?
Santos has been immediately removed from office. While his expulsion is good for our democracy and the people of NY-03, we’re not taking a victory lap just yet.
With the seat vacant, New York Governor Kathy Hochul will announce a special election that takes place 70 to 80 days from now (sometime in mid-February). Local party leaders will select the candidates and the winner of the special election will serve out the rest of Santos’ term.
Winning and keeping this district will mean we have to flip just four more seats to retake the House. So, our focus over the next few months will be mobilizing voters in NY-03 to flip this seat in the special election. Then, we’re going to fight like hell to hold onto it in next year’s regular, general election.
The other Unrepresentatives…
Today, we got rid of one Unrepresentative, but there are still seventeen more in Congress, including four from New York: Nick LaLota (NY-01), Anthony D’Esposito (NY-04), Mike Lawler (NY-17), and Brandon Williams (NY-22).
These Unrepresentatives voted to expel Santos, but we’re not going to forget the fact that they spent this entire year voting alongside him. Together, they repeatedly voted to slash funding for essential programs like Medicaid and SNAP, undermine voting rights and reproductive freedoms, and advance the interests of Donald Trump and billionaire extremists.
George Santos’ brazen lies and corruption may have garnered him the most media attention, but all of these Unrepresentatives share the same extreme voting record. To defeat them and retake the House, we’re going to have to continue shining a spotlight on their out-of-touch records. That means more rallies, protests, billboards, letters-to-the-editor, and conversations with voters.
And with election year around the corner, we’re also going to have to build up a massive ground game to turn out the vote. That’s why we’ve joined a coalition with other progressive organizations and local unions to form the largest field and organizing campaign in modern New York history.
Needless to say, all of this work is going to require funding and support from our grassroots donors. So, if you’re looking for ways to celebrate Santos’ expulsion today and want to see other Unrepresentatives get kicked out of Congress, click here to pitch in and help us make it happen.
[1] A reminder — The Unrepresentatives are the 18 Republicans serving in districts Biden won in 2020. They are key to our strategy to flip the House. Learn more on our campaign website here.
