New York GOP reps, not eager to face a barrage of attack ads revolving around Santos, move to expel the serial liar from the House. A similar proposal by the Dems failed to pass in May.
Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) leads the charge, calling the measure to the floor as a privileged resolution, forcing majority leadership, such as it is, to act on the legislation within 2 days. House session reopens next Wednesday.
Others pushing this measure forward include New York Republicans Nick LaLota, Marc Molinaro, and Mike Lawler. They are defending districts won by Joe Biden. No official word from the House ethics committee yet.
In other news, Santos shares his family travails with a NYT reporter: apparently his niece may have been briefly kidnapped by Chinese Communists, according to George Santos:
The NYPD apparently was called about this ordeal but found no evidence of secret agents, surveillance camera footage, kidnapping, or nanoparticles of veracity in Santos’ account.
If they are successful and Santos is expelled, how is he replaced? Does the governor, currently a Democrat, appoint a replacement? If so, does it have to be a Republican? Or is the seat left vacant until the next election, whenever that may be?
Although it’s just one seat, with the balance of power as tight as it is in the House, every seat counts.
As @hajario says, vacancies in the House may only be filled via election. Depending on the timing of the vacancy, it may either be filled by a special election or (if the term is almost over already) left vacant until the next regular election. Generally, Governors have some discretion over when they schedule the special election and will often time it to coincide with any other elections (e.g. local elections, ballot initiatives, etc.) that are already scheduled.
Thanks. Will be interesting to see the effect Santos’ duplicity has on the voters in his district. If he somehow managed to flip it to blue out of disgust with his duplicity - the Dems might have to send him a thank-you card.
The whole reason why Santos had a competitive district to run in was that the New York Supreme Court rejected the Democratic legislature’s map and drew up their own map for the 2022 election. Whether the Legislature can redraw the maps for the 2024 election is currently being fought over in court.
The Republicans appear to have reached the point where they feel Santos is doing more harm to other Republicans as a fellow Republican than a Democrat would do.
Sure you can! In New York, the state added to the constitution an ill-considered “independent, bipartisan” redistricting process. When that fell apart, the state legislature tried to pass its own maps, but the courts found that they did not adhere to the necessary steps.
But the bigger problem is that it’s largely blue states that are adopting “independent, bipartisan” redistricting commissions. Meanwhile, Republican-controlled states are gerrymandering with glee to carve out as many R seats as possible. North Carolina Republicans just passed an egregious gerrymander that will flip 3-4 Democratic seats Republican next year. Gerrymanders in Florida and Texas assure Republican dominance in those states through the rest of the decade. I’m not a fan of gerrymandering, but it’s moronic for Democrats to unilaterally disarm.
Yeah, if he was pushed out for a ridiculous reason I’d hope he’d be able to run in the special election. I’d rather vote for that Anthony DeVolder fellow. He seems like a swell guy.
If Republicans are gerrymandering to gain an advantage, Democrats would be damn fools not to. There is no inconsistency in exploiting existing law while trying to change it. To do otherwise is to bring a knife to a gunfight.
Breaking News: Major George has just beamed down a statement from the Space Station where he is currently working on scientific experiments related to his doctorate. In part: “I have never met these lawyers, treasurers, or reporters. It’s all just a misunderstanding. I have the receipts and loan agreements between myself, Warren Buffet, and OceanGate. I’m currently hard at work on my re-election campaign and dog breeding business.”
BTW House debating today the proposal from his fellow NY Republicans to just boot him out already.
(Later there will also be motions to table the respective censure resolutions against Taylor-Greene and Tlaib, so it will be basically a night of testing caucus discipline over producing material to shame one another over.)