Republican members of New York’s congressional delegation shared a harsh assessment of Representative George Santos (R., N.Y.) on Thursday as lawmakers debated an effort to expel the embattled lawmaker.
Representative Marc Molinaro, a Republican who represents district 19 in upstate New York, said Santos “manufactured his entire life to defraud voters.”
“My future former colleague is divorced from reality,” Molinaro said on the House floor. “He has manufactured his entire life to defraud the voters of his district and on his choice, for a member of Congress.”
The House has twice spared Santos from expulsion, but lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have renewed their efforts to oust the Long Island Republican in response to a damning report from the House Ethics Committee that includes “substantial evidence” that Santos committed serious federal crimes.
Santos is facing 23 federal charges in connection with alleged wire fraud, inflated campaign reports, and the use of campaign funds for personal purchases. He has pleaded not guilty.
The expulsion effort seems to have garnered more support this time around, with several lawmakers who previously supported Santos saying they now plan to vote to oust him on Friday.
Molinaro said New Yorkers expect him to “use the rules of the House . . . and to stand up for the very decency and laws of this country in protecting the Constitution.”
For his part, Santos has claimed the Ethics Committee rushed its investigative report and failed to give him due process, and he dismisses the report as “slanderous” and “unprecedented.”
He also has argued that expelling him would set a bad precedent.
Molinaro disagreed, saying, “I was not elected, nor any of us, to defend precedent. I was elected to defend the United States Constitution.”
“Mr. Speaker, while this proceeding is not covered by the due-process clauses, George Santos has indeed been afforded much more process than a person in his shoes deserved,” fellow Long Island Republican representative Nick LaLota said during the debate on Thursday.
“Santos had every opportunity to be heard when the Ethics Committee invited him to confront the accusations, an invitation Santos rejected,” LaLota said.