George Santos throws a fit as his House Republican colleagues sell him out
Once House Republicans finally managed to elect a Speaker, the House Republicans in the districts surrounding George Santos promptly moved to expel him. This wasn’t a surprise. Santos’ neighbors are afraid that if he’s still in any way a part of the conversation by the time the 2024 election rolls around, voters in the region might take it out on them.
It’s still not yet clear if new Speaker Mike Johnson, a powerless pushover, will allow a full House expulsion vote to happen. In the meantime, the House Republicans who have moved to expel Santos are already cashing in on it – literally. House Republican Anthony D’Esposito of Long Island sent out a fundraising email bragging that he moved to expel Santos. D’Esposito is banking on Santos being just that unpopular in the region.
Santos is throwing a fit about this, tweeting “Now tell me it’s not political!” He’s got a point. Anthony D’Esposito just got done voting for extremist whack job Mike Johnson to become Speaker, so it’s not as if D’Esposito has any morals. He simply wants Santos gone because Santos is an impediment to his own reelection prospects.
The good news is there’s a way for us to get rid of George Santos and Anthony D’Esposito both. Whether Santos is expelled or not, there will be an election for his NY-03 seat (in November 2024 or sooner), and Democratic candidate Anna Kaplan is in prime position to win it. Get to know her now, in case this ends up going to a special election soon.
And as for D’Esposito, he’ll be up for reelection in November 2024. He’s in NY-04, a race rated as “toss up” – meaning either party could win it. Once the Democratic Party primary process plays out in that race and we have a candidate, we’ll be all-in on ensuring a victory in that race as well. So as the Santos expulsion process plays out (or doesn’t play out), let’s keep our eye on the prize: the House majority.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report