Congressman Robert Garcia, Who Led Expulsion of George Santos, Statement on Expected Santos Guilty Plea

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) released the following statement after the news that former Congressman George Santos will plead guilty after being charged with 23 felony counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds and lying on federal disclosure forms, as well as conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. Congressman Garcia was the first member of Congress to take legislative action to expel George Santos.

“From day one, we made the case that George Santos had no business serving in the House of Representatives and needed to be held accountable for his crimes. As the first person to call for his expulsion and lead the effort, I am glad to hear that Santos is finally being honest about the crimes he has committed. No one is above the law,” said Congressman Robert Garcia.

Last year, Congressman Garcia led the charge in calling for accountability for Santos’ numerous ethics violations. In February, Congressman Garcia introduced a resolution to expel George Santos from Congress. In May, Congressman Garcia forced a floor vote on this resolution, which every House Republican voted to refer to the Ethics Committee, rather than vote to expel. Following the vote, Congressman Garcia called on Speaker Kevin McCarthy to expedite the Ethics Committee investigation, which culminated in a November 2023 report that alleged serious wrongdoing. Congressman Garcia called his resolution to the floor ahead of the successful vote to expel George Santos from Congress.

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