Washington — The House Ethics Committee revealed on Tuesday that it will make an announcement regarding its “next course of action” in the investigation of Rep. by November 17.
This update from the committee’s leaders comes prior to a potential floor vote on a resolution to remove the New York Republican from Congress, as he faces multiple federal charges.
Chairman of the House Ethics Committee, Michael Guest of Mississippi, and the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, stated that the investigation has involved the examination of over 170,000 pages of documents, interviews with approximately 40 witnesses, and the issuance of 37 subpoenas. They also emphasized the significant amount of time and resources invested in this inquiry.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including allegations of identity theft, unauthorized credit card charges on his campaign donors, money laundering, and falsifying campaign finance reports. Despite calls from both Republicans and Democrats, he has refused to step down from his position.
These latest charges have prompted some of Santos’ Republican colleagues in New York to expedite the consideration of a resolution for his expulsion, which may come to a vote as early as Wednesday.
However, the announcement from the Ethics Committee could potentially be used as a pretext by Republicans to delay the vote, enabling vulnerable members to avoid publicly stating their stance on whether Santos should retain his seat. With Republicans holding a slim nine-seat majority in the House, they can only afford to lose four party members and still pass the resolution if all Democrats oppose Santos.
According to the Constitution, expulsion requires a two-thirds majority vote, meaning nearly 80 Republicans would need to side with all Democrats in order to successfully remove Santos.
In May, House Republicans blocked a Democratic attempt to expel Santos and instead voted to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee, where they expected Santos’ fate to be decided.
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