Now former Rep. George Santos, D-New York, was expelled from the House of Representatives by an overwhelming majority of his colleagues on Friday, Dec. 1, on the heels of a blistering House Ethics Committee report that accused the now-former lawmaker of breaking federal law.
Related: House expels New York Rep. George Santos in just the sixth expulsion in the chamber’s history
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, a freshman in the House, was one of the key leaders in the effort to expel Santos from his position, just the sixth House member expelled from position in U.S. history.. Here’s what he had to say about the vote — and the months-long effort to get Santos expelled — in an interview on Friday, Dec. 1.
Q: You led the charge to get Santos expelled. Why was this an important mission for you?
A: Firstly, I think anyone that knows me, from when I was mayor (of Long Beach) or from back home, knows that I take the Constitution and my commitment to the oath very seriously.
I was not born here. I earned my citizenship in my 20s. And that was an important moment for me. So the responsibility to the country is really, really important — when I see someone completely take that oath and demean it, lie, cheat, steal, and do everything possible to discard something that is really a critical piece of our democracy, to me, that’s just wrong. I’m not going to take that or stand for it.
Related: All local House members but one vote to expel George Santos
Coming into Congress, the first thing I was confronted with was this person that was a complete fabrication, a conman, clearly has done just incredibly illegal things. I felt the responsibility to try to stop him.
Q: Walk me through the work it took you and your office to get this vote done.
A: We were the first to call for his expulsion. I called for expulsion early, back in February, and then we submitted the very first expulsion resolution against him.
And in that expulsion resolution, Republicans…
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