Rep. George Santos (R-NY) moved on Thursday to force a House vote to expel Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for pulling a fire alarm in a congressional office building as Santos himself faces an expulsion vote this week.
Santos filed his resolution as “privileged,” compelling the chamber to act within two legislative days, though Santos may already be removed from the House by that deadline and there does not appear to be a sufficient number of members willing to remove Bowman from office.
During his remarks on the House floor, Santos placed emphasis on the fact that Bowman took a plea deal on a misdemeanor count of falsely pulling a fire alarm that resulted in a temporary evacuation of the Cannon House Office Building in late September ahead of a government spending vote.
By contrast, Santos has not been convicted of any crimes, but he does face 23 federal charges — including aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy — to which the congressman has pleaded not guilty. In a press conference earlier in the day, Santos warned that removing members from office on “mere allegations” will “haunt” many other elected officials.
