George Santos is an embarrassment to his constituents, to the Republican Party and to the U.S. Congress and should resign if he had any shame. But he is shameless. As lie after lie after lie after lie has been exposed, it’s become clear that the man who won election in November isn’t the one who now serves. He conned Nassau and Queens voters. He may have broken laws; the courts will determine that. He may have broken congressional rules; the Ethics Committee will figure that out.
But should he be expelled from the House by his colleagues, as now urged by fellow representatives, including Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman? Here, we draw a line and say no.
Expulsion — overriding the will of citizens to choose who represents them — is reserved for the most extreme cases. Only five members have been kicked out of the House in its 234 years. Three of them were Confederate traitors. The fourth and fifth were convicted of federal corruption charges, and removed only after the felony verdicts came in.
