George Santos keeps House privileges, including voting, despite indictment

WASHINGTON — Rep. George Santos may have been charged Wednesday in a 13-count federal indictment for wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making materially false statements, but he’s still an active and voting member of the U.S. House.

Despite the indictment, Santos, 34, (R-Nassau/Queens) faces no prohibition in federal laws, House rules or the Constitution from voting on the House floor, participating in congressional proceedings or drawing his $174,000 annual salary.

And he has the backing of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to continue serving.

McCarthy said Tuesday he will not ask Santos to resign but will reconsider if he is convicted.

“In America, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” McCarthy said.

What happens to Santos in the House now?

“Nothing happens now automatically. He's still a member of the House,” said Stanley Brand, who once served as general counsel to the House and now is a senior counsel at the Akin Gump law firm in Washington, D.C.

Depending on whether Santos pleads guilty or the length of the trial and its outcome, Santos could finish his term.   

Santos, who pleaded not guilty Wednesday at his arraignment in Central Islip and was released on a $500,000 bond, can be removed from office in only three ways: resignation, expulsion or death. The House also could censure or reprimand him.

Calls for Santos to resign swelled after the news of the federal indictment.

Representatives Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) and Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) renewed their calls for Santos to step down. So did Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn) and Rep. Richie Torres (D-Bronx), have who filed a House Ethics complaint against him.

But McCarthy has every reason to keep Santos in the House because Republicans have only a five-vote majority and cannot afford to lose more than four of their members’ votes on any bill, motion or other issue.

Santos made his value to McCarthy clear on April 26, by switching his vote from no to yes on McCarthy’s debt ceiling and spending bill, allowing it to pass in a tight 217-215 vote.

“McCarthy is following what has been, up to this point, House precedents to let the criminal process play out and see what happens,” Brand said. “He's still representing his constituents. To deny him the right to vote is de facto expulsion.”

On Wednesday, the House Republican leadership followed McCarthy’s lead.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) declined to ask Santos to resign. “He’s going to have to go through the legal process,” Scalise said.

A motion to expel Santos was filed on Feb. 9 by Rep. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) with co-sponsors Goldman, Torres, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) and Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.). It died without support from McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn).

“He should resign, the speaker should require him to resign, or we should bring the expulsion resolution already filed to the floor,” Goldman said Wednesday.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) on Wednesday called for Santos' expulsion.

Expulsion would require a two-thirds vote of the House, which is unlikely as long as McCarthy and Jeffries oppose it.

The House has expelled only five members — three of them in 1861 for joining the Confederacy. The most recent expulsion came in 2002, when the House expelled Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) after his conviction for corruption.

A majority of the House could either censure Santos — making him stand in the House as a resolution listing his misdeeds is read — or the lesser punishment of a reprimand. But experts say it’s not likely, given the superseding nature of the federal indictment, that the House will resort to either of these punishments.

Santos will face some consequences right away for being indicted, said Steve Israel, a former Democratic congressman from Long Island and now director of Cornell University Institute of Politics and Global Affairs.

“You’re considered the walking dead,” Israel said. “But it’s not exactly like Santos had many friends anyway. He was a pariah from day one.”