Following a scathing report from the House Ethics Committee, embattled Rep. George Santos announced he is not running for re-election in 2024.
“I am humbled yet again and reminded that I am human and I have flaws, but I will not stand by as I am stoned by those who have flaws themselves,” Santos wrote on Twitter. “I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time.”
Barring Santos changing his mind, he will be out of Congress in early 2025.
What The Report Said About George Santos
A report by the committee found “substantial evidence” that Santos “violated federal criminal laws.”
“Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” the report states. “He blatantly stole from his campaign. He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit. He reported fictitious loans to his political committees to induce donors and party committees to make further contributions to his campaign—and then diverted more campaign money to himself as purported ‘repayments’ of those fictitious loans.”
The report did not explicitly call for Santos to be expelled from the House, and he recently survived a vote introduced by his Long Island colleague, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, intended to do exactly that.
What Santos’s Colleagues Had To Say
“The newly released House Ethics Committee report on George Santos is in alignment with my long-held belief that this fraudster has no place serving in the People’s House, and I once again call on my colleagues to join me in advocating for George Santos’ expulsion from Congress,”D’Esposito said, indicating he may attempt the vote again.
Joining Santos’s call for the House to expel Santos was Rep. Nick LaLota, who represents Suffolk County’s North Shore and the Forks of Long Island. LaLota had supported the initial vote as well.
“George Santos is a total fraud who stole an election to get to Congress,” LaLota wrote on Twitter. “The House must use our Constitutional expulsion powers. This will let the Third District participate in a valid election.”
Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who represents most of Suffolk County’s South Shore, had been largely silent on the issue of Santos — because Garbarino sits on the Ethics Committee and was an integral part of this report — until now.
“It would be hard to run for re-election from prison,” Garbarino said of Santos’s decision. “The report speaks for itself. There is significant evidence that Congressman George Santos willfully committed numerous wrongdoings including FEC violations, campaign finance violations, and financial disclosure violations. There is significant evidence that he exploited his position for personal gain. He is undeserving of public office. Now that the Ethics Committee has completed its investigation and issued its report outlining his reprehensible actions, I will support the expulsion of Congressman George Santos from the House of Representatives.”
