Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) on Monday called for the expulsion from Congress of fellow New York Republican Rep. George Santos.
“I didn’t see a more provable case of election fraud in my seven years as elections commissioner than the fraud committed by George Santos,” read a Twitter post from LaLota, who previously served on the Suffolk County, New York, board of elections.
He continued: “I’m for election integrity. I’m for expelling George Santos.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last month said he would only call for Santos’ resignation if he was found guilty by the House Ethics Committee, which has a public meeting scheduled Tuesday relating to the start of the new Congress.
LaLota is among the five vulnerable New York Republicans the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting with a new weekslong billboard campaign announced on Monday.
While Democrats performed better than expected overall in November’s midterm elections, the party got disappointing results in New York.
The DCCC is zeroing in on LaLota, Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams because of their decision to accept campaign contributions from Santos.
Only two of them, Molinaro and D’Esposito, returned the cash after Santos’ lies came to light. The billboards targeting them ask why they ever took money “from fraudster George Santos.”
“New Yorkers want Santos out of office, and these congressmen’s meaningless words aren’t enough to make up for their failure to actually take action to hold their campaign donor accountable,” DCCC spokesperson Nebeyatt Betre said in a press release announcing the billboard campaign.
Voters in New York also appear to be getting tired of Santos.
A new Siena College Research Institute survey showed over 65% of voters in the state think Santos should step down, according to Politico, with the majority of both Democrats, Republicans and independents wanting him to hand in his resignation.
Santos has been under fire since The New York Times and subsequent reports revealed he falsified many aspects of his work and life history. He is now the subject of several investigations.
