Beleaguered and criminally charged New York Republican Rep. George Santos has at least one good friend in the House of Representatives, and their name is George Santos.
See, Santos recently faced a hearing on his expulsion for his (checks notes) many lies, alleged crimes, and all-around not-greatness. In an institutional body where it’s not uncommon for members to face criminal charges, disrupt touring productions of Beetlejuice, and generally play to the worst that society has to offer, I would have assumed that at least one Republican in the House of Representatives would have testified on behalf of Santos if only to use the opportunity to scream about something off-topic because next year is an election year after all.
Alas, Santos was not to look to the (metaphorical) east on the dawn of his hearing to see his own personal band of Rohirrim riding to meet his enemies, signal his virtue, and sing his praise. Instead, he had to rely on the only person he knew who would come to his defense when all else failed: himself.
Yes, that’s right, the only person who came to George Santos’ defense was the man himself. Everyone else who spoke during the hearing was in favor of kicking him to the curb (much like King Theoden banished Grima Wormtongue from his realm.) Since nothing about Santos is ever straightforward, he even yielded some of his own time in his defense to Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, also from New York, for Goldman to push for Santos’ expulsion. I can’t really explain that one, to be honest. Maybe Santos knew that, even though no one came to his defense, he was secure in the knowledge that the House Republicans would expel him from leadership but never from their ranks. They simply cannot spare the votes. This is how the vote turned out, with Santos keeping his position. For now.
If you’re ready for another twist, it was fellow New York Republicans who led the charge for Santos’ expulsion. This is surprising for about a moment, and then you realize they are scared for their own reelection chances next year and want to show the electorate they did their best to get rid of the worst among their ranks. That’s why the debate on Santos was limited to the New York delegation on both sides. Per AP News:
The House floor debate over whether to expel Santos was undertaken strictly by members of the New York congressional delegation. On one side, Republican Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Nick LaLota and Mike Lawler laid out their case for expelling Santos.
“Mr. Santos is a stain on this institution and not fit to serve his constituents in the House of Representatives,” D’Esposito said.
On the other side was Santos, who appealed to lawmakers to hold off on expulsion, saying that passing judgment without due process would engender mistrust.
“I’m fighting tooth and nail to clear my name in front of the entire world,” Santos said. “It hasn’t been easy, but I’m fighting by God’s grace.”
Look, I have absolutely no sympathy for Santos. He genuinely seems like a bad person who leaves a trail of destruction in his wake. However, I do have some empathy for this specific situation. Imagine being such a POS that literally no one will come to your defense when your back is up against the wall and you might become the sixth person, ever, to be expelled from Congress. I cannot fathom that out of the 26 congressional seats that New York has in Congress, 11 of which are Republican, Santos couldn’t find one person to say something mildly nice about him in his defense. Even if it was to parrot his talking point: innocent until proven guilty. That is wild to me. Personally, if I were in his shoes, I would be doing some self-reflection right now that maybe, perhaps, I really might be a terrible person. Although given the crimes Santos was charged with, and the fact he just skirted any repercussions from one of the most powerful governing bodies in the world, I doubt that will happen.
(featured image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Photoshop)
