Republicans Push to Strip George Santos' Privileges as Former Member of Congress

A group of House Republicans are seeking to strip former Congressman George Santos from his privileges as a former member of Congress, following his appearance at Joe Biden's latest State of the Union Address.

The initiative is being carried out by party members from New York. Representative Anthony D'Esposito introduced a resolution aimed at denying "certain privileges of the House of Representatives to former Members who have been expelled from the House."

Some of the privileges targeted are the ability to access the House floor and the Capitol's members-only gym, dining room and parking spaces, Axios reported.

Santos is one of two living persons who have been expelled from Congress, the other one being former Representative Michael Myers.

However, even if the resolution passes (a big if, considering many Republicans opposed his expulsion in the first place) Santos could regain his privileges later this year.

He announced in March that he will launch a run for NY-01, a district different to the one for which he was elected initially in 2022, NY-04. He is set to challenge Nick LaLota, who voted to expel him from Congress and also co-sponsored the resolution to remove his privileges.

"New York hasn't had a real conservative represent them since I left office arbitrarily, thanks to RINO, empty suits like Nick LaLota. He is willing to risk the future of our majority and the future of this country for his own political gain," said Santos when announcing the run.

"I look forward to debating him on the issues and on his weak record as a Republican. The fight for our majority is imperative for the survival of the country," he added.

Santos was expelled from the House in December after House Ethics Committee released a report detailing that Santos violated campaign finance laws during his election campaign. The House of Representatives voted 311 to 114 in favor of the motion.

Santos is also accused of misleading the Federal Election Commission and the National Republican Party committee by producing falsified financial documents with inflated campaign fundraising numbers.