GREAT NECK, NY — While a cadre of Democratic congressmen is calling for the expulsion of Rep. George Santos, Long Island Republican congressman Anthony D’Esposito introduced a separate resolution on Wednesday.
In announcing it on the House floor, D’Esposito said he was one of the first members of Congress to call on Santos to resign. D’Esposito also said he’s “personally in favor” of Santos’ expulsion.
The Island Park lawmaker went on to say that without having the supermajority votes, he is referring it back to the Ethics Committee, “to ensure a thorough and expedient investigation.”
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Jody Kass Finkel, with the advocacy group, Concerned Citizens of NY-03, questioned how they know the votes to expel aren’t there.
“If they had actually put this to the vote yesterday, it would have forced the issue for people,” Kass Finkel told Patch.
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It also would have given a clearer picture of “how much further we have to go” for congressional support from other members of the GOP, she said.
However, D’Esposito told colleagues, “This is the quickest way to ridding the House of Representatives of this scourge on government.”
The House Ethics Committee opened a probe into Santos in early March, while last week the first-term congressman was charged with a 13-count federal indictment involving fraud, money laundering and making false statements.
“The Ethics Committee is known, that’s where you send things to die,” Jody Kass Finkel with Concerned Citizens of NY-03 told Patch.
The D’Esposito resolution, agreed with by fellow Long Island congressman Nick LaLota, to let the Ethics Committee finish looking into Santos.
“What they did is they voted to protect George Santos staying in Congress,” Kass Finkel said. “We were so close to advancing and getting rid of this guy.
As part of a statement on Wednesday, D’Esposito not only reiterated wanting Santos to step down or be expelled, he had harsh words for his congressional colleague, calling him a “disgusting liar” and a “stain” on the institution.
Words aside, Kass Finkel wants to see actions.
“If you feel that way and you’re not lying, vote to expel him,” she said. “I don’t know how they continue to tell their constituents that they’re trying to get rid of him. They’re not.”
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