Protecting a narrow four-vote majority, Republican leaders in the House make it clear they intend to allow legal proceedings with New York Representative George Santos to take place before taking steps to force his resignation or expel him.

The freshman congressman was charged by federal prosecutors Wednesday with embezzling campaign funds, falsely receiving unemployment benefits and lying to Congress about his finances and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Santos pleaded not guilty.

Republican leaders, faced with mounting questions about Santos for months after most of his campaign biography was exposed as a lie, were unmoved and ignored calls, including from some colleagues, that they take immediate action to push Santos out of Congress .

In America there is a presumption of innocence. But they are serious accusations. He will have to go through the legal process, said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise

(R-La.). from Louisiana.

Scalise was seconded by

Republican

Representative Elise Stefanik

(RN.Y.) of New York

, the no. 3 House Republican, who sidestepped the question of whether Santos should resign.

As I’ve said from the very beginning about questions on this topic, this legal process will play itself out, she said.

The position taken by Republican leaders generally follows the precedent set by Congress over the years in similar criminal cases. The House has only evicted two members in recent decades, and both votes came after the legislature was convicted on federal charges. But many say the slim majority that Republicans won in the House is certainly another factor in the thinking of the GOP leadership.

Rep. George Santos pleads not guilty to campaign fraud and theft charges

There are a few members of the New York delegation and a few others calling for his immediate expulsion on the Republican side, which could tip the hand of the leadership. But given where we stand with the debt limit and a four-vote majority, they don’t want to lose any of those votes right now, said Casey Burgat, an assistant professor who directs the Legislative Affairs program at George Washington University.

Santos is adamant that he will remain in Congress and seek re-election. At a news conference outside a Long Island federal courthouse on Wednesday, he talked about going back to Washington so he could vote on a top House GOP priority, a border bill that would restrict some asylum seekers and boost border enforcement. It is expected to be a tight vote.

Santos also voted last month in favor of the House GOP bill that would tie a debt limit extension to an estimated deficit reduction of $4.8 trillion over 10 years. In a dramatic flourish, Santos was the last Republican to vote for that bill, passing it by a razor-thin 217-215 margin.

While GOP leaders say the justice system should run its course, a few Republicans have seen enough.

The people of New York’s 3rd district deserve a vote in Congress, Rep. Tony Gonzales tweeted

(

R Texas

)

. “George Santos must be removed from Congress immediately and special elections must be held as soon as possible.”

Here are the highlights of the indictment against George Santos

The House and Senate have the power to punish members of their chamber for misconduct, including through expulsion. To date, according to the Congressional Research Service, 20 members have been expelled, but the vast majority of them occurred at the start of the Civil War. Half of the 20 expulsions were the result of a single Senate vote involving senators representing states that had seceded from the Union but had not formally resigned.

The two most recent evictions

That

followed convictions on charges of public corruption were:

Representative Michael J. Ozzie Myers

,

(D-Penn.)

,

was convicted of bribery and conspiracy to take money from FBI agents posing as Arab sheikhs. He was deported in 1980 after his conviction and served more than a year in prison.

Representative James Traficant

,

(D-Ohio)

,

was expelled in 2002, three months after pleading guilty to 10 federal charges, including racketeering, bribery and fraud for taking bribes and kickbacks from business executives and his own staff.

Some lawmakers have also resigned after being convicted of a felony, ahead of an eviction vote.

Last year, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry

,

(R-Neb.)

,

resigned after a California jury convicted him of lying to federal authorities about an illegal campaign donation from a foreigner.

Two years earlier, Representative Duncan Hunter

(

R-

Alpine) California,

tendered his resignation about a month after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy with his wife to steal approximately $250,000 in campaign funds to pay for a lavish lifestyle,

of inclusive

holidays

Unpleasant

outings with friends and private school lessons. Then chairman

Donald

Trump forgave Hunter shortly before leaving office.

With Santos reportedly indicted, bill to oust him gains support, California lawmaker says

Trump also pardoned former Representative Chris Collins

,

(RN.Y.), who resigned in 2019 before admitting to helping his son and others dodge $800,000 in stock market losses when he learned that a drug trial by a small pharmaceutical company had failed.

More than three dozen Democratic legislators have passed a bill from Rep. Robert Garcia signed

,

(D-

Long beach

)

California,

that would drive Santos out of the house.

It’s pretty obvious to everyone, including his constituents, that he’s a complete con artist and shouldn’t be in Congress, Garcia said.

Garcia said McCarthy is not pushing to evict Santos because he needs his vote. He urged the various New York Republicans who have criticized Santos to sign the expulsion bill.

He can barely keep his caucus together as far as votes go, so it’s clear he’s using George Santos’ support to keep him in the lead, Garcia said.

Republicans deny that Santos has been a distraction and say they are focused on other issues.

This place is bigger than any member, said Representative Kevin Hern

,

(R-Okla.), the chairman of the powerful Republican Study Committee.

Despite reports that Santos was facing federal charges and a flurry of media coverage of his New York arraignment, Republicans said he was not discussed at their weekly closed-door caucus meeting.

on

Wednesday morning.

I never once heard his name mentioned, Representative Andrew Clyde said

(

R-ga.

).