House Democrats plan to unveil a resolution Monday to formally censure Representative George Santos of New York for blatantly lying to voters about his life story, making a new attempt to censure the new republican.
The new measure faces high odds of passing the Republican-led House. But Democrats believe that forcing a vote will help keep political pressure on Republican leaders who have stood with Mr. Santos in the face of a 13-count federal indictment and their vulnerable members who are impatient. to remove him.
“If you are a member of Congress who has informally condemned Mr. Santos, then you should have no problem formally censuring him,” said Representative Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat who wrote in the three-page resolution on censure. “He has disgraced the institution, and the institution must speak with one voice against his misconduct.”
The censure is one of the toughest sanctions in Congress, and has been imposed against only two dozen or so lawmakers in the House’s history. Although it does not force a lawmaker from office, the reprimand is permanently recorded on the record of the member of Congress.
The latest case of censure occurred last month, when Republicans moved across party lines to censure Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, for his role investigating former President Donald J. Trump. The vote angered Democrats, who complained that Republicans were settling political scores on when to punish Mr. Santos, a lawman who lied about most of his life, including his education and his religious background.
Mr. Santos has few direct defenders, and he has admitted to some of his lies, while defending his innocence against federal money laundering and wire fraud charges. Republican Party leaders and members of Congress from New York have called for him to resign and vowed to defeat him in a primary next year.
But in Washington, Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, who controls a slim majority, defended Mr. Santos’ right to remain in office for now and fight the charges against him.
Mr. McCarthy succeeded in killing an earlier attempt by the Democrats to expel Mr. Santos from Congress. He did so in part by promising Mr. Santos’ fellow Republicans from New York that the bipartisan House Ethics Committee would quickly complete an investigation into the congressman’s conduct that could produce another justification for the his removal.
Mr. McCarthy is likely to dismiss the new thrust of criticism as partisan theater as well, and may seek to set it up. But there are differences from the previous Democratic effort to remove Mr. Santos.
Unlike impeachment, which requires the support of two-thirds of the House, a censure vote requires only a simple majority. That means Democrats will only need a few Republicans to cross party lines to succeed.
And while Ethics Committee leaders released a rare statement in late June indicating that they are “actively working to resolve this matter in an expeditious manner,” there are few outward signs that they plans to release their findings at any time.
Mr. Torres is acting in coordination with House Democratic leaders, and declined to say in an interview when he would use special rules to force a vote. A Democratic leadership aide said Sunday that the party intends to do so before lawmakers leave town for their August recess — if the House Ethics Committee doesn’t act first.
Mr. Santos, 34, did not comment on the accusations outlined in the censure resolution, instead issuing a statement saying that he has been productive while in office. “It’s time to stop the political ping-pong and get the real work done,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Monday, Mr. McCarthy declined to comment on the status of the Ethics Committee’s investigation. He did not say how he would handle the censure resolution, suggesting it was a distraction from Democrats.
“This is their whole agenda,” he said. “I think the American public wants to focus a little more.”
Mr. Santos is actively running for re-election next year and reported on Friday that he raised $179,000 between April and the end of June.
A copy of the censure resolution reviewed by The New York Times cites more than half a dozen of Mr. Santos’ most egregious lies, including fake grades, a fabricated work history, a nonexistent collegiate volleyball career and false claims that he helped produce a Broadway musical, “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.”
Notably, it did not include allegations from the indictment accusing Mr. Santos of schemes to pocket campaign contributions, steal public funds and lie on House disclosure forms.
Mr. Torres said he believed that “Mr. Santos’ conduct was too serious to warrant dismissal.”
“But at the very least,” he added, “we should hold him accountable to public criticism.”
