Republican Rep. George Santos of New York announced that he will not seek reelection to the House of Representatives following the release of a report by the House Ethics Committee regarding his actions.
Santos was indicted by federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for a number of alleged felonies related to his 2022 congressional campaign, including wire fraud, false statements, identity theft and credit card fraud, among others. After the House Ethics Committee released a report corroborating the allegations of prosecutors following its independent investigation of the matter, Santos announced on Twitter that he would not seek re-election to his office in 2024. (RELATED: House Ethics Report Finds ‘Substantial Evidence’ George Santos Broke The Law)
“If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the “Ethics committee”, they would have not released this biased report. The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise),” Santos wrote. “I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time.”
If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the “Ethics committee”, they would have not released this biased report. The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise).
It is a disgusting…
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) November 16, 2023
Following Santos’ election in 2022, he was the subject of an investigative report by The New York Times, which revealed that he had lied about much of his personal life while campaigning for office.
Many Democratic and Republican members of Congress have called on Santos to resign from Congress early. At least three efforts have been made to expel Santos from the House of Representatives, which requires a two-thirds majority per the U.S. Constitution, though they have not been successful.
While Santos had vowed to seek re-election, he attracted many challengers for his seat, including his immediate predecessor, former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi. Other challengers are former Democratic state Sen. Anna Kaplan and Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan, among others.
A Siena College poll in January reported that Santos had a 7% approval rating among his constituents, while 83% viewed him unfavorably. 78% believed that he needed to resign, including 71% of Republicans.
Santos’ scandals and departure from Congress pose a difficulty for House Republicans, who have a four-seat majority, to maintain control of the chamber in 2024.
“We feel confidently we will keep NY-03 in Republican hands and look forward to working hand-in-glove with the county parties to ensure victory,” said NRCC spokeswoman Savannah Viar in an email to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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