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LaLota was quoted as saying “By expelling George Santos… my colleagues and I gave Queens and Nassau County voters a chance at fair and honest representation and set a new precedent. The House of Representatives will expel a member of Congress who lies about everything to trick donors and voters and, by doing so, give voters a real opportunity to participate in a non-fraudulent election.”
This implication of this statement is that when a politician lies on the campaign trail the election is therefore “fraudulent”. Congressman LaLota is correct that such a statement does, in fact, set a new precedent.
Aside from the obvious virtue signaling, the broader question of this move is how it benefits, in any way, the constituents in either LaLota’s or Santos’ districts, which appears to be “not at all”. Santos appears to have lied. Santos has also been indicted on a number of charges relating to misallocation of campaign finances. The voters in NY-3 and NY-1 elected these individuals, however, to help manage the federal government, to promote conservative principals, and to help steer federal dollars back to our communities. The Santos seat will now be vacant for three months until a special election can be conducted, and the early indications are that former Rep. Tom Suozzi (Democrat) will easily win that election due to his name recognition and ability to mobilize a campaign so quickly. So the practical implication of Santos’ ouster is that the voters in NY-3 will have no representation at all for three months and then a likely Democrat rep in 2024, and the voters in NY-1 will see the already slim Republican majority cut by one seat with an additional Democrat vote added to the House early next year, making the advancement of conservative legislation all the more difficult to pass.
Congressman LaLota does not appear persuaded by a slimming Republican majority as he continues to vote along with Democrats to pass meaningful legislation through the house. His top priority for months has appeared to be the ouster of Santos, and he managed to get that passed with 206 Democrats supporting him but only 105 Republicans in favor. This comes on the heels of recent budget legislation in which a $2 trillion deficit was pushed through the House with 209 Democrats supporting it and only 127 Republicans in favor, including Congressman LaLota.
Republicans in NY state and Suffolk County took great pride in 2022 in helping to deliver a Republican-led House, due in large part to the outpouring of support for Lee Zeldin for Governor. These new NY members are now voting reliably with Democrats on key legislation and have now led the effort to remove a Republican Congressman from NY which will almost certainly lead to a Democrat taking his place. Santos may have been a liar and may soon be convicted in a court of law, but one wonders whether his actions were better or worse for NY Republicans than the actions of LaLota and the other NY members who continue to side with Democrats.