As the House prepares to vote on the expulsion of Representative George Santos, the embattled New York Republican gave a few minutes of his floor time to fellow New York Representative Dan Goldman. Santos yielded five minutes to Goldman, a Democrat who has been a vocal critic of Santos and previously called for his expulsion in May. However, that effort failed when the House decided to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee.
It is surprising that Santos would give his time to a Democrat who supports his expulsion. Santos was given 30 minutes to address the House before the expected expulsion vote on Wednesday night. During his allotted time, Goldman took the opportunity to express his support for expelling Santos from Congress, reiterating his stance from May when he co-sponsored a similar resolution that was not supported by the New York Republicans.
Representative Anthony D’Esposito and a group of New York Republicans pushed for a vote on expelling Santos last week. According to reports, Goldman initially approached the New York Republicans who introduced the resolution to ask for floor time but was declined. He then asked Santos to yield him a few minutes, which Santos agreed to.
Reports also suggest that the New York Republicans refused to yield time to Goldman due to a critical post he made on X (formerly Twitter). The post criticized the five New York Republicans for not supporting the resolution to expel Santos in May. A spokesperson for Goldman confirmed the accuracy of these reports.
Santos is currently facing 23 federal charges from both an initial and a superseding indictment. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Santos has faced criticism since his election after reports revealed alleged misrepresentation of his work experience and education during his campaign.
The Hill has reached out to both Santos and D’Esposito for further comment on the matter.