Santos blasts Dems in fiery remarks ahead of expulsion vote, teases call to remove progressive House member
"If the House wants to start a different precedent and expel me, that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body because this will haunt them in the future," he warned.
"I came in here as a mad-as-hell activist and... I got to see how the sausage is made. I get to take that story back to the American people... I'm proud of the work I put forward. If this is it, then this is it," he added, saying he would likely release a statement later in the day.
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THE HITCHHIKER’’ – OR EMBARRASS THE GOP
Santos went on to say he plans to file a privileged motion for expulsion of "convicted, guilty-pleaded Congressman Jamal Bowman." He claimed that anyone else who pulled a fire alarm during a congressional hearing would have been charged with obstruction.
The expulsion vote against Santos arose from a slew of accusations against him, including campaign finance abuses.
Santos has survived two other efforts to oust him from Congress in recent weeks, but the third time may be the charm for lawmakers who believe Santos is unfit to serve.
The House sidetracked two previous efforts to expel Santos – never directly casting a ballot on his worthiness to be a House member.
Those who opposed the plan to expel Santos fell short of defending him, however. They instead noted that a court has never convicted Santos of alleged wrongdoing.
A report from the House Ethics Committee found that Santos "used campaign funds for personal purposes" and "engaged in fraudulent conduct," among other allegations.
Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution grants each body of Congress the ultimate authority over who is sworn in, rules of proceedings, and how to discipline and "with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member."
