Rep. Matt Gaetz said on Thursday that he will vote against expelling fellow Republican Rep. George Santos from the House, which could happen today.
In a House floor speech, the Fort Walton Beach Republican argued that lawmakers have been expelled for only two reasons: they’re convicted of a crime or they participated in the Civil War.
“Neither apply to George Santos,” said Gaetz.
Read: Newsom Stands By His Claim That More People Are Leaving Florida For California
Gaetz said he was not defending Santos, but rather standing up for the precedent that other lawmakers, including House Republicans, are ready to “shatter.”
He maintained that tossing Santos would do “grave damage” to the House for the long term.
Santos, a New York Republican, could be just the sixth House member to be expelled since the founding of the U.S. government. Other New York Republicans have led the effort to toss him from Congress.
Santos was indicted in May on allegations of wire fraud, money laundering, lying to Congress and theft of public funds.
As the Tampa Free Press has reported, the freshman lawmaker has also been accused of defrauding campaign donors by using contributions to pay for personal expenses, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, falsifying records, aggravated identity theft, and other charges.
Moreover, Santos has faced accusations that he lied about much of his personal life while campaigning for office, and that he performed as a drag queen in Brazil and attempted bigamy by proposing marriage to a man despite being married to his wife.
Santos has denied all allegations and accused his critics of instigating a smear campaign. He has already said he will not seek re-election in 2024.
Despite all that, Gaetz countered that Santos has not been convicted of any crime, yet the House has not expelled people who actually have been.
Read: Rep. Matt Gaetz Of Florida Calls For Senate To Reject Plan To Bury Pentagon UFO Files
He cited New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman as an example. Bowman recently pled guilty to a misdemeanor charges of falsely pulling a fire alarm in September to delay a vote on the budget bill.
Gaetz noted that the House Ethics Committee did nothing about Bowman, even though he admitted to committing a crime.
Gaetz also noted the case of former GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter who continued to serve in the House after being convicted of misappropriation of campaign funds for personal use.
Gaetz called it “persuasive to me” that other House Republicans who are former law enforcement officers have also argued against expelling Santos.
The congressman also noted that the author of the resolution to boot Santos admitted the precedent is also being tossed. While Santos’ critics allege they’re implementing a higher standard for conduct, Gaetz charged they are actually lowering the standard for due process.
“Whatever Mr. Santos did with botox or OnlyFans is far less concerning to me than the indictment against [Democratic] Sen. [Bob] Menendez, who’s holding gold bars inscribed with Arabic on them from Egypt while he is still getting classified briefings today,” Gaetz argued. “But he’s not getting thrown out of the Senate. He’s getting classified briefings (while) under indictment for bribery.”
“If George Santos is convicted, he ought to be expelled. But until then, it is an incredibly dangerous thing for people in Washington, D.C., to substitute their judgment for the judgment of voters,” Gaetz added.
“It’s between him and his voters, him and the justice system.”
Santos will be expelled if two-thirds of the House vote to do so.
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.
We can’t do this without your help; visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps