Embattled New York Rep. George Santos said he wouldn’t be surprised if he’s booted out of Congress on Friday.
“I don’t expect, but I do believe they have the votes,” Santos told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Friday morning. “They need about 77 Republicans. If that’s the numbers they’re dwelling with, I think they have it.”
His appearance on the network came ahead of the expected House vote to expel Santos later Friday morning, an action many lawmakers have been calling for for months. And it appears the House has the 290 votes needed to kick him out, Santos said.
The freshman lawmaker promised to leave Congress respectfully if he’s ousted.
“I’ve accepted the fate,” he said. “If it’s God’s will to keep me here, I will stay, and if it is his will to leave, I will leave. And I will do so graciously.”
And if it does happen, he added, he’s at least partially to blame.
“In some way, I think we all bring things on ourselves, right?” Santos said. “Would I have not said certain things, would I have done things differently? Absolutely. I’m an adult and I’m mature enough to acknowledge that.”
Calls for Santos’ expulsion from the House are being renewed in the wake of a 55-page report released in November from the House Ethics Committee that found “substantial evidence” the New York Republican violated federal law. Allegations include that he spent campaign money on Botox, Sephora, OnlyFans and lavish trips with his husband.
Kilmeade prodded Santos about the numerous lies he has told during his tenure, including that he worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and that he’s “Jew-ish.”
Santos responded that his past behavior has been blown out of proportion by news coverage.
“To think that I built my entire life based on what the media has tried to package over the last couple months is not fair, not true and it is dishonest,” he said.
