Friday is officially the day Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., will face another expulsion vote that he and many others in Congress believe will mark the end of his time in Congress prematurely.

Defiant to the end, Santos on Thursday attacked his fellow lawmakers at a press conference, to reporters in his office and on the House floor. While a handful of Republicans leapt to his defense, members of both parties widely responded with condemnations of their own and dozens of GOP members are expected to vote to oust their colleague.

“I have just made peace with God in the most best way possible and say, ‘whatever comes my way, I will accept it and I will move on with my life,’” Santos told reporters. “I will have fun on my way out. Don't worry about it. And I have plenty of receipts.”

He brought up domestic abuse allegations leveled at Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, on the House floor. He used a slur describing mentally handicapped people in his characterization of how Congress functions when speaking with reporters. He revealed plans to try to expel Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y. at the press conference.

“I can go and read about all my colleagues. I'm not going to stand here to smear them. I'm not gonna stand here and use the time I have to say Ill things about my colleagues, I refuse to stoop to that level,” Santos said on the House floor on Thursday afternoon, moments after bringing up the allegations of abuse by Miller that former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham described in 2021. Miller — who called Santos a “crook” prior to his outburst — sued Grisham for defamation but the case was dismissed earlier this year.

“I have done the best I can to serve in this body and to deliver the best I can and my campaign promises to vote as a conservative voice in this body. I stand by that,” Santos added.

An admitted liar, Santos is facing a criminal prosecution in New York for 23 federal charges, including for wire fraud, identity theft, lying to federal election officials, money laundering and stealing thousands of dollars from his donors. Santos pleaded not guilty and has denied all wrongdoing. 

The House Ethics Committee, made up of members of both parties, found “substantial evidence” of wrongdoing earlier this month. The committee’s report included allegations he used his donors’ money, obtained both legally and illegally, to pay for vacations, Botox and a subscription to OnlyFans, which hosts adult content, among other perks.

“Whatever Mr. Santos did with Botox and OnlyFans is far less concerning to me than the indictment of Sen. Menendez who is holding gold bars… while he is still getting classified briefings today,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said on the floor of the House in defense of Santos. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is under federal indictment for allegedly accepting bribes in cash, gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for favors to the Egyptian government, among other charges. While some Democratic senators have called for his resignation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he won't try to force Menendez out prior to a convicition. 

“But he’s not getting thrown out of the Senate,” Gaetz continued. “But what? Because Santos was buying Botox and OnlyFans, we have to throw him out?

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, and Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., also spoke in Santos’ defense.

Santos, who announced earlier this month he won’t seek re-election, said Thursday the Ethics Committee’s report is “littered in hyperbole, littered in opinion” and claimed no prosecutor would charge him based on its findings. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss. — the chair of the Ethics Committee who set in motion the expulsion vote — said on Thursday that Santos “has built his persona, his personal and political life on a foundation of lies.”

“The findings of the committee were shocking,” Guest said on the House floor. “We know that the Ethics Committee authorized 37 subpoenas, they issued 43 requests for information, they interviewed 40 witnesses, they reviewed 172,000 pages of documents and they issued a 56-page investigative report.”

A vote had been possible Thursday, but Santos confirmed during the news conference outside the Capitol that it had been pushed back until Friday. The measure needs two-thirds of the chamber to support it to be successful. Previous votes have not met that threshold.

If expelled, he will be only the sixth member of Congress to face the punishment in U.S. history. Three of the five were expelled for serving in the Confederate Army. Two more recent members were expelled after bribery convictions.

“It's just an unfortunate circumstance that I have to sit here and watch … Congress waste the American people's time over and over again on something that is the power of the people, not the power of Congress, which is to … elect and remove members of Congress,” Santos said.

Santos reiterated that he believes expelling him would violate “a long-standing precedent in the House” of only removing members who have either been convicted of a crime or supported the Confederate rebellion.

House Republican leadership has resisted supporting the move to expel Santos with their slim majority already leaving them in a precarious condition as they face a laundry list of major issues to address, from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine to funding the government through next year.

Speaker Mike Johnson spoke with Santos several times in recent days, both men have said, and the new leader of the House has encouraged him to resign to spare his conference the trouble. The No. 2 House Republican, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, told Punchbowl News on Thursday he would vote against expulsion.

Santos said again Thursday he refuses to resign.

“Because if I leave, they win,” Santos said. “This is bullying.”

But the Republicans in New York elected to their first terms alongside Santos last November have no compunctions about his place in Congress. The distraction and bad press he has invited has frustrated and angered them as they look ahead to 2024, when many of them face tough reelections in districts President Joe Biden beat then-President Donald Trump in.

“Santos tried to exploit every aspect of his candidacy for personal financial gain,” fellow Long Island Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito said during the House debate on Thursday. “George Santos is a liar.”

“My future former colleague is divorced from reality. He has manufactured his entire life to defraud the voters of his district an honest choice for a member of Congress,” said Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Hudson Valley Republican.

Santos also said he planned to introduce a motion Thursday calling for the expulsion of Bowman, the New York Democrat who pleaded guilty last month to one misdemeanor count tied to pulling a fire alarm in a congressional office building despite there not being an emergency.

Bowman has claimed he mistakenly pulled the fire alarm while trying to get through a closed door while rushing to a vote in the House chambers. Republicans have accused him of trying to intentionally delay the vote.

“I think that that's consistency,” Santos said. “Let's hold our own accountable, but let’s make sure that we do it with the precedent of the House.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., has already introduced a motion to remove Bowman over the incident.

Santos sounded resigned to the possibility of being removed from office, saying it “doesn’t mean that it’s goodbye forever.” He added that he doesn’t know what he will do in the future.

“I’m just going to do whatever I want,” he said. “Whatever comes my way, I have the desire to stay very much involved in public policy and advocacy for specific issues.”

In his conversation with reporters in his office, Santos ruled out a run for mayor of New York City in 2025 or for governor of New York in 2024. He did say he was considering leaving New York in the long term, but wouldn’t confirm his plans beyond that. He said he would consider doing a reality television show in the future.

“I wouldn’t do that. Let me rephrase that. Today, I would not do that,” Santos said. “Maybe in the future, if I find the chutzpah to go on television and embarrass myself with my four left feet.”

In his office, Santos was asked to sum up his tenure in Congress in a single word. He replied:

“Brave.”

He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.