Rep. George Santos vows to stay in office in fiery speech, rejecting his possible expulsion

Rep. George Santos has expressed his anticipation of being removed from Congress after the House Committee on Ethics released a damning report revealing significant evidence of illegal activities by the New York Republican.

“I know I’m going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor,” he stated Friday night in an X Space interview. “I’ve done the math over and over, and it doesn’t look really good.”

The remarks followed a week after Michael Guest, the Republican chair of the House Ethics Committee, proposed a resolution to remove Santos when Congress reconvenes after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Santos, who has previously withstood two votes for expulsion, now faces a shift in stance from many of his peers who initially opposed such measures. They now endorse the idea, influenced by the extensive investigative findings of the committee into various alleged wrongdoings by Santos.

According to the report, Santos misappropriated campaign funds for personal use, including spending at high-end retailers and adult entertainment websites, and subsequently caused his campaign to submit inaccurate or incomplete financial disclosures.

“Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” investigators wrote. They highlighted that he failed to cooperate with the investigation and consistently "evaded" direct requests for information.

On Friday, Santos stated his reluctance to discuss the details of the report, which he described as "slanderous" and "designed to force me out of my seat." He expressed concern that any justification of his actions could potentially be used to his detriment in the current criminal case being pursued by federal prosecutors.

During the three-hour livestream, Santos adopted a reflective demeanor, recounting his rise from being the Republican "it girl" to becoming "the Mary Magdalene of the United States Congress."

He also criticized his fellow congress members, alleging that they engaged in far more serious misconduct – like voting under the influence of alcohol – which he claimed was much worse than any of his actions.

“They all act like they’re in ivory towers with white pointy hats and they’re untouchable,” he said. “Within the ranks of United States Congress there’s felons galore, there’s people with all sorts of shystie backgrounds.”

He explained that his choice not to run for reelection was driven not by external forces, but by his own dissatisfaction with the "sheer arrogance" displayed by his colleagues.

“These people need to understand it’s done when I say it’s done, when I want it to be done, not when they want it to be done,” he added. “That’s kind of where we are there.”