According to a spokeswoman, Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres intends to propose a resolution on Monday to condemn controversial Republican New York Rep. George Santos for making false statements about his past, job history, and education when running successfully for Congress in 2022.
The resolution from Torres, a New Yorker as well, will be privileged, requiring action from the Republican-controlled House. The measure must be voted on within 48 hours of Torres’ request for a vote, or it will be “tabled” (essentially killed).
The resolution was announced following Santos’ federal indictment and as the House Ethics Committee’s inquiry into him dragged on. Before the August recess, Democrats want to impose some type of punishment on Santos.
Jacob Long, a spokesman for Torres, said that if the House Ethics Committee didn’t finish its investigation into Santos and make its recommendation before members left Washington at the end of July, the resolution might be put to a vote before then.
Torres’ intentions to introduce the resolution were originally covered by the New York Times.Democrats had previously proposed a privileged motion to remove Santos from the chamber in May, but Republicans were successful in having the subject moved to the ethics committee. Republicans from New York who have lambasted Santos and demanded his resignation backed the referral with the condition that the panel would take a decision by Monday, 60 days from when it was made.
The ethics panel chose not to respond.
Santos has entered a not guilty plea to all 13 federal charges brought against him, including money laundering and wire fraud. There is no definite date for the trial. Sept. 7 is the date of his subsequent court appearance.
Censure votes are uncommon in Congress, although they don’t usually result in anything severe save a mark on the member’s record. Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, was recently censured by House Republicans for his involvement in the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. Democrats at the time were quite critical of the decision, and Schiff has subsequently raised millions of dollars.
A censure vote needs just a simple majority to pass, whereas an expulsion vote needs two-thirds of the House to pass.
He claimed that Democrats on the opposing side of the aisle had entirely lost sight of the tasks at hand. “My track record demonstrates that my office works diligently to serve constituents and conceive clever laws. The country’s Republican majority is likewise working arduously to right the ship and fix the problems caused by the catastrophic one-party Democrat government. It’s time to put an end to the political ping-pong and get to work.
Share your thoughts