Rep. George Santos speaks one-on-one with CBS New York ahead of expulsion vote
NEW YORK -- A vote on the expulsion of Rep. George Santos is officially on the agenda for Friday morning.
It follows a stinging ethics committee report which accuses Santos defrauded his donors, filed false FEC reports, and broke the law in order to win his election last November.
The House needs a two-thirds majority to get it done, and whether they get it or not, Santos insists he's not resigning.
"I'm going to have a long road ahead of me of trying to make wrongs right, and I look forward to doing that. I'm 35 years old, I have a lot of life left to live, and I can't live off the shadows of mistakes I've made. If I could do it different, I would've definitely separated myself from some people, would've not gotten involved with certain people. But you know, this is part of, I guess, God's plan," Santos told CBS New York Friday morning.
CBS New York's Lisa Rozner has been following the developments in Washington all week. She spoke with the congressman one-on-one Thursday night.
Thursday may have been the last night Santos walks the halls of Congress as a United States representative.
"You heard your colleagues say they should expel you, they shouldn't, how are you feeling?" Rozner asked.
"You know, this immense amount of peace has literally entered my being over the last couple of weeks," Santos said.
"So you've mentally prepared yourself that Friday could be your last day as a congressman?" Rozner said.
"Absolutely," Santos said.
Calls for the Santos to resign began late last year after constituents learned he fabricated his life story, including his education and lying about being Jewish.
But Friday's third resolution to expel him comes following a scathing Ethics Committee investigation that found he defrauded campaign donors.
- Read more: House Ethics Committee report on George Santos finds "substantial evidence" of wrongdoing
Some colleagues still don't mind.
"Because Santos was buying Botox and OnlyFans, we gotta throw him out?" Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said.
Santos is also facing 23 federal fraud and conspiracy charges related to his campaign finances. He's pleaded not guilty.
"You lied about your background and the Ethics Committee found that you defrauded donors. Why are you still in office?" Rozner asked.
"So these are allegations that I am not at this time prepared or able to have those discussions," Santos said.
"Why not just resign and put an end to this?" Rozner asked.
"Because me resigning is me folding, is me giving in to the desire of a select few," Santos said.
- Related story: Hermès, Botox and an Atlantic City trip: How Rep. George Santos allegedly spent some of his campaign funds
Constituents who traveled to D.C. from Nassau County disagree.
"There are over 700,000 people thwho t live in our district, and this is a real issue for us. It's not a joke for late night TV," said Jodi Kass Finkel, with Concerned Citizens of NY-03.
"We're here to keep the focus not on his antics, not on the Republicans' need for a majority in Congress, but on us," said Karen Keiserman, with Concerned Citizens of NY-03.
"If you are expelled, will Long Island and Queens still be places important to you?" Rozner asked.
"I don't have immediate intentions of leaving. But in the trajectory that I see my state going and the leadership in my state, I don't see that long term if something doesn't change," Santos said.
- Related story: What does the ethics report on Rep. George Santos mean for voters in Nassau County and Queens?
So will there be enough votes to expel Santos? Republican Congressman Nick Lalota, of Long Island, predicts there will be.
Democrats are holding a press conference ahead of the vote Friday morning.
Santos did take action on the House floor Thursday, introducing a resolution to expel Democrat Jamaal Bowman for falsely pulling a fire alarm at the Capitol. Bowman calls it another meaningless stunt.
