• House Dems took steps today (Tuesday) to force a vote on Rep. George Santos

  • Santos has been charged with embezzling money from his campaign, falsely receiving unemployment and lying to congress about his finances

  • He has plead not guilty

    • Santos has referred to the charges as a "witch hunt"

• Rep. Robert Garcia (D - CA) introduced a resolution to expel Santos in February

  • Expulsion requires two thirds majority approval

  • He brought it to the house floor today with a privileged motion, a process that gives lawmakers until Thursday to deal with it

  • Garcia told reporters that his decision to move forward with the resolution now because he had the backing of Minority Leader Jefferies

• Options for the GOP

  • Vote to table it, kill it

  • Refer it to the House Ethics Committee for consideration

    • McCarthy has indicated this is his preference

    • The committee has already initiated an investigation

    • This would take a majority vote as well

  • Allow the house to vote on the expulsion resolution

    • This is unlikely

    • It would force Republicans to be on the record on if they support Santos or not

• GOP leadership have said that he deserves his day in court before congress weighs in

  • This is in line with precedent

    • House has expelled two members in recent decades

      • Both votes occurred after the lawmaker had been convicted on federal charges

• Santos has said that he intends on seeking reelection in 2024

  • McCarthy has said he would not support his reelection bid

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