A House Democrat has introduced a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos, days after the freshman Long Island and Queens congressman was arraigned on federal charges of embezzling campaign funds and fibbing about his finances.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) submitted the resolution alongside Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) and Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), which could receive a floor vote by Thursday.
“George Santos is a fraud and a liar, and he needs to be expelled by the House,” Garcia said in a statement.
“News that federal prosecutors are filing 13 criminal charges against George Santos should have been the final straw for [House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy, but he refuses to act.
“Republicans now have a chance to demonstrate to Americans that an admitted criminal should not serve in the House of Representatives.”
The resolution will likely not pass the GOP-controlled House but could force Republicans to go on the record about their truth-challenged colleague.
![George Santos](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011002690.jpg?w=1024)
McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday said he was urging the House Ethics Committee to move quickly on its investigation of Santos, adding that the matter was “very serious.”
The measure is privileged, meaning it may take precedence over ordinary House business and must be voted on within two days of its introduction.
A two-thirds majority is needed to expel Santos, who would be just the third House lawmaker to meet that fate since the Civil War. The other two, Rep. Michael Myers (D-Pa.) and James Traficant (D-Ohio) were expelled in 1980 and 2002, respectively, after being convicted of criminal charges.
![Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., questions Robin Dunn Marcos, Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, hearing on resettlement of unaccompanied minors, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000009804873.jpg?w=1024)
Santos, 34, turned himself in May 10 on charges that he embezzled $50,000 in campaign money to purchase luxuries including designer clothes and falsely claimed on financial disclosure forms that he was a millionaire.
Prosecutors also allege that Santos fraudulently obtained COVID-19 unemployment benefits.
The Republican lawmaker pleaded not guilty in his appearance last week at Central Islip federal court and was subsequently released on $500,000 bond.
![George Santos](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011198921.jpg?w=1024)
Shortly after Santos’ November 2022 election, reports surfaced that he had lied during his campaign about his education, work experience and family history — leading to denunciations from members of the New York GOP.
On Sunday, former New York congressman and GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin said that Santos should step down.
“The people who voted for him are more upset than the people who didn’t vote for him,” he told The Post. “If I were him I would have resigned.”
Santos could serve up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charges.