George Santos expulsion: What to expect as House tees up Friday vote
The House is expected to vote on George Santos' expulsion Friday morning
WASHINGTON (WABC) -- The stage is set Friday for a third -- and potentially final -- House vote to expel embattled Long Island Congressman George Santos from office.
The first-term Republican congressman could well become just the sixth member of the House to have been ousted by colleagues.
While Santos survived two earlier expulsion efforts, a critical House Ethics Committee report released on Nov. 16 has convinced more members that his actions merit the House's most severe punishment.
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Ahead of Friday's expected vote, Santos said he is at "peace with whatever comes my way."
"Let the cards fall where they fall. There's nothing left to be said about being expelled," Santos said.
When will the vote happen?
The vote to expel Santos is expected to be taken in the House of Representatives sometime on Friday, and a House schedule released Thursday night, revealed one vote series expected to begin around 10:30 a.m.
The Santos expulsion resolution is listed on the schedule second, under the header "Legislation that may be considered," suggesting it will be the final vote in a two-vote series.
The House may postpone votes on any bill for up to two legislative days, which is why the House did not vote immediately on the matter Thursday once debate ended.
Will Santos be expelled?
Expelling Santos would require support from at least two-thirds of House members voting. Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California who brought the resolution to the House floor says he expects to reach that number easily, however, unlike New York reps Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Nicole Malliotakis, not all Republicans are on board.
Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas says he is voting against expelling Santos.
"I respect members of the Ethics Committee, I think they've done great job with their reporting, but does that mean that I don't understand it, he hasn't been convicted of anything," Nehls said.
As for House Speaker Mike Johnson, he said he had "real reservations" about the expulsion of Santos. He said he was concerned about the precedent it would set, but he also said that GOP leadership is telling members to "vote their conscience."
What happens to the vacated seat if Santos is ousted?
If Santos is expelled, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul would have to call a special election within 10 days of the expulsion, according to state law.
That election would occur within 70 to 80 days of her calling it, and she would not be able to appoint someone to the seat.
However, there is no traditional primary. Instead, county leaders from each party would nominate candidates for the special election, according to the State of New York Election Law 202, kicking off a competitive courtship of local Republicans by the many who within his own party wish to replace Santos.
Nassau County Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs told ABC News that a handful of candidates are being considered for their pick, including former Rep. Tom Suozzi, the 2022 Democratic nominee Robert Zimmerman, and former state Senator Anna Kaplan, among others.
Since the district is mostly in Nassau County but also includes parts of Queens, the consideration of nominees will be jointly made by Nassau and Queens Democrats while in consultation with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, and Gov. Kathy Hochul, per Jacobs.
A source familiar with the Nassau County Republicans confirms to ABC News that they consider around 15 candidates strong contenders and have been in touch with party leaders in Washington and hope to be able to produce a nominee within several days.
What's next for Santos?
As to what's next for Santos if expelled, he said he wants to work in public policy.
"I will definitely be doing some level advocacy when it comes down to policy especially ahead of 2024 election," he said. "As you all know, I am a staunch Trump supporter and that is not going to change. It's probably only going to get intensified."
Santos plans to pack up his apartment this weekend and move out of DC if expelled. He also said he's going to write a book.
When a reporter asked if he would go on 'Dancing with the Stars,' Santos said, "Maybe - in the future if I had the chutzpah to go on television and embarrass myself."
Could Santos go to prison?
Of course, being expelled from Congress would not absolve Santos from the legal troubles he faces in the months ahead.
The congressman faces criminal charges including a 23-count superseding indictment accusing him, among other things, of stealing people's identities and making charges on his own donors' credit cards without their authorization, and lying to federal election officials.
Santos faces a lengthy prison term if convicted.
When asked by reporters Thursday at the Capitol if he worries about going to jail, Santos said "of course."
"Wouldn't you be? I mean of course, right? That is why I made it very clear that I am standing my ground," he said. "But of course, everybody should be. These are serious allegations."
Asked if he has any regrets, Santos said, "I have no regrets of the work I've done in Congress. I have regrets of people I associated with."
"If I had the opportunity to do things differently, associate myself with different people, I would have 100% done it all over again," he said. "We have opportunities to redeem ourselves in the future and that's what I look forward to do."
He said he is "disappointed" with how his tenure in Congress went.
ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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