An effort to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from Congress failed Wednesday night, prompting the freshman congressman to post—and subsequently delete—a celebratory meme.
“Tonight was a victory for due process not me,” Santos wrote in the wake of the vote. “This was never about me, and I’ll never let it become about me. We all have rights under this great Constitutional Republic and I’ll fight for our right to uphold them till my last dying breath.”
In the original version of his post, Santos’ text remained the same but he included a meme of himself wearing a crown with text overlay stating, “If you come for me, you best not miss.”
The House voted 179-213 against expelling Santos, with another 19 members voting present.
The vote crossed party lines, with 31 Democrats voting against expulsion and 24 Republicans voting in favor of it.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), one of the Democrats who voted against the resolution, explained that he’s “a Constitution guy” and all other members that had been expelled historically had been convicted of a crime.
“This would be a terrible precedent to set, expelling people who have not been convicted of a crime and without internal due process” Raskin said in his statement. “If and when Santos is convicted of these very serious criminal offenses or ethics charges, I will certainly vote to expel.”
The effort to oust Santos was led by a group of freshman Republican lawmakers from New York, including Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.), who said he was “disappointed” by the outcome of the vote.
“I believe Santos’ lies coupled with the criminal charges he is facing deem Santos unfit to serve the people of New York’s 3rd Congressional District,” D’Esposito said. “I am confident the findings of the upcoming House Ethics Committee report on George Santos will expose Santos’ deceptions and outline what New Yorkers already know — that George Santos is a fraud unworthy of serving in public office.”
Santos has faced pressure to step down from his role as he faces a 23-count federal indictment on charges relating to wire fraud, money laundering, lying to Congress, theft of public funds, and more.
“As alleged, Santos is charged with stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign,” U.S. attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
Santos has pleaded not guilty. A trial is tentatively scheduled for next September.
The controversial lawmaker has repeatedly rejected calls to resign amid his legal troubles, stating that he would only give up his seat if he was voted out in the next election.
In 2022, Santos won his seat by a margin of 20,420 votes (or 7.6%).
Former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), who vacated that seat to unsuccessfully run for governor, is among the candidates challenging Santos in 2024.
