House speaker says lawmakers can ‘vote their conscience’ on expelling Rep. Santos

Lawmakers to vote on expelling Rep. George Santos

House Speaker Mike Johnson is expressing reservations about expelling Rep. George Santos from the chamber this week. But Johnson says GOP leaders won't push colleagues to oppose removing the New York Republican from office. Johnsons said after a closed-door meeting Wednesday with House Republicans that "we’re going to allow people to vote their conscience."

NEW YORK - There were chants in front of a giant George Santos balloon outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and locally, constituents voiced disappointment near his district office in Douglaston, Queens as the disgraced congressman faces a third vote to expel him from Congress.

Unlike the last two attempts to expel scandal-stricken Santos, lawmakers now have the findings of a House Ethics report revealing Santos’ "complex web of unlawful activity."

Political analyst Michael Dawidziak believes the report will change the minds of those who once were previously unwilling to expel the Congressman.

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"The more time that goes on the more time that the due process argument doesn’t hold," he said.

Santos, who plans to address the media early Thursday morning in D.C., has made it clear he’s not resigning. Instead, he expects to be kicked out.

House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed reservations about expelling Santos before his federal case plays out in court.

"We’re going to allow people to vote their conscience I think is the only appropriate thing we can do," he said.

If Santos leaves his seat - forced or voluntarily - New York Governor Kathy Hochul has limited time to set the date for a special election. The county parties would nominate their candidates to run to replace him.

According to Dawidziak, Tom Suozzi, who held Santos’ seat prior, is the big name on the Democratic side, along with Anna Kaplan. Mike Sapraicone and Kellen Curry have announced their bids for the Republican Party.

"This is not a good future for George Santos personally," Dawidziak said. "The democrats will be salivating over flipping seats and republicans working just as hard to save it."

Local lawmakers say they are cautiously optimistic that two-thirds of Congress members will vote to expel Santos by the end of the week. He would be only the sixth member of the House to be kicked out of the body.