Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis on Friday called for the expulsion of fellow Republican Rep. George Santos, a day after the House Ethics Committee released a report that found “substantial evidence” of misconduct by the embattled congressman.
Appearing on "Mornings On 1," Malliotakis expressed concern over the findings, saying the report showed “really egregious uses of campaign donors’ money.”
Santos, she said, should either “resign immediately” or be expelled from Congress. Her remarks came shortly before the Chairman of the House Ethics Committee filed a motion to expel Santos.
"They found the evidence that does say that George Santos used his campaign account for personal purposes,” she said. “I mean, this is somebody who spent donors' money at Hermès, at Ferragamo, on Botox.”
The House Ethics Committee report said Santos "blatantly stole from his campaign," "sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit" and "reported fictitious loans to his political committees to induce donors and party committees to make further contributions to his campaign — and then diverted campaign money to himself as purported 'repayments' of those fictitious loans."
Santos himself on Thursday said he would not seek reelection in 2024, but refused calls to resign.
Malliotakis said she believes there will be strong bipartisan support to expel Santos from the House of Representatives.
"I think that this determination from the Ethics Committee makes all the difference, and you'll see the Democrats and Republicans who previously voted against will now vote for expulsion, myself included," she said.
While Santos’ seat could ultimately be won by a Democrat if he is expelled, Malliotakis said she believed his removal is still necessary.
"We're doing it because it's the right thing to do, and he needs to be removed, because he's an embarrassment to the institution and the people that he represents," she said.