Julia Nikhinson/Reuters
- George Santos is facing a litany of criminal charges in a federal court in New York.
- But he could continue to serve as a member of the House for several more months until he's convicted.
- Only then would McCarthy push for the scandal-plagued congressman to resign.
Rep. George Santos is now facing a litany of criminal charges in a federal court in New York.
That includes wire fraud, money laundering, and theft charges. And he could be facing up to 20 years in prison.
But don't expect the scandal-plagued New York Republican to be forced out of the House of Representatives just yet.
While Santos, who has long been known to have fabricated much of his background, has now officially been indicted by federal prosecutors, he has not yet been convicted of any crime.
That process could take months, involving convening a federal jury and a trial. Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made clear on Tuesday that he wouldn't call for Santos' resignation until he's convicted.
"That is my policies and principles on this," he told reporters outside his office yesterday.
In March 2022, another House Republican, then-Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, was convicted of lying to the FBI. But he had already been indicted five months earlier in October 2021, and while McCarthy had removed him from committees, he was still allowed to vote on the House floor as his trial was underway.
"In America, we'll just follow the same pattern we always have, right?" McCarthy. "If a person is indicted, they're not on committees. They have the right to vote, but they have to go to trial."
Only after Fortenberry was convicted did McCarthy call for his resignation.
"I think when someone's convicted, it's time to resign," McCarthy said at the time, adding that if Fortenberry wanted to appeal the charges, he would have to do so "as a private citizen."
For now, McCarthy needs Santos' vote, given the GOP's razor-thin House majority.
Santos, a Republican out of New York, has remained defiant despite all that's already known about his history of lying and resisted calls for him to resign.
"I'm not going anywhere," he told a group of DC Young Republicans last month. "You're gonna have to drag my dead, cold body out of this institution."
He already does not serve on any committees and has been largely shunned by his colleagues, garnering zero co-sponsors on any of the bills he's introduced.
Even if convicted and McCarthy called on Santos to resigm, Santos could still stay in office if he chose to.
If that occurred, the House could vote to expel Santos, requiring a two-thirds majority vote. A group of House Democrats already introduced a resolution months ago to do just that.
In a statement on Tuesday, one of those Democrats — Rep. Robert Garcia of California — called on McCarthy to move their resolution forward.
"Three months ago, I introduced a bill to expel George Santos, and over 40 members have already signed the expulsion resolution," said Garcia. "Speaker McCarthy needs to get serious and move our bill forward in the Ethics Committee and then to the full House instead of staying silent as an indicted liar remains in his caucus."