How could George Santos attend the State of the Union if he was expelled from Congress?
The disgraced former US Representative made a surprise visit to the State of the Union using his appearance to capture the limelight in more ways than one.
Disgraced former US Representative George Santos was turfed out of Congress in December after the House Ethics Committee amassed “overwhelming evidence” of his lawbreaking spree. The serial fabulist blasted the panel’s report calling it a “disgusting politicized smear” and vowed not to run for reelection.
When he was finally booted out by his colleagues in a 311-114-2 vote he left saying “to hell with this place.” But he appears to have had a change of heart making a surprise appearance at the State of the Union. The federally indicted Santos used his moment back in the spotlight to make even more news, that he was running for Congress, again.
How could George Santos attend the State of the Union if he was expelled from Congress?
Despite having been tossed out by an overwhelming majority of representatives, Santos received cordial greetings from several members of Congress when he appeared at the State of the Union. When asked in the hallway on his way to the House Floor if he was a guest of somebody, he responded “No, I’m a former member. I have floor privileges.”
Former US representatives are given lifetime floor privileges while the House is in session, even if they are expelled. However, they “shall not be entitled to the privilege” according to the rules of the 118th Congress if such individual:
- is a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal as those terms are defined in Clause 5 of rule XXV;
- has any direct personal or pecuniary interest in any legislative measure pending before the House or reported by a committee;
- is in the employ of or represents any party or organization for the purpose of influencing, directly or indirectly, the passage, defeat, or amendment of any legislative proposal; or
- has been convicted by a court of record for the commission of a crime in relation to that individual’s election to, or service to, the House.
George Santos is facing trial in September on 23 charges including embezzling money from his campaign, stealing donors identities and then racking up tens of thousands of unauthorized charges on their credit cards, wire fraud and filing fraudulent fund raising reports to the Federal Election Commission among others.
George Santos announces he will primary Republican Nick LaLota of New York
During the State of the Union, President Joe Biden’s last before the 2024 general elections, Santos posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he is making another run for Congress. However, he is not planning on running for his former seat representing New York District 3 but instead trying to unseat Nick LoLota, the Republican Representative of District 1.
“New York hasn’t had a real conservative represent them since I left office arbitrarily, thanks to RINO, empty suits like @nicklalota,” Santos wrote.
“To raise the standard in Congress, and to hold a pathological liar who stole an election accountable, I led the charge to expel George Santos,” he said in response. “If finishing the job requires beating him in a primary, count me in.”