OAN’s Abril Elfi
6:06 PM – Monday, March 11, 2024
Democrat Representative Ritchie Torres of New York stated that he plans to introduce a new rule that would deter expelled former lawmakers from visiting the House floor if uninvited.
On Friday, Torres (D-N.Y.) expressed that he wanted to introduce a rule change in the lower chamber that would revoke floor privileges from expelled lawmakers following an appearance from former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) at the State of the Union.
The law, which would be formally known as the “Getting Expelled Officially Revokes Guaranteed Entry,” or the G.E.O.R.G.E rule as an abbreviation. The G.E.O.R.G.E rule would make sure that members of the House who have been voted out are unable to use any prior privileges in order to return to the floor.
In December, the House voted 311-114-2 to remove Santos from Congress, thereby forcing his expulsion. He was the sixth legislator to be removed from the lower house in history.
“Expelled Congressman George Santos disgraced the United States Congress with his presence at the State of the Union last night,” Torres said in a statement. “Santos was thrown out of the House on a bipartisan basis after a litany of lies, alleged crimes, sideshows, and embarrassments on the national stage.”
The New York Democrat said that he is introducing the rule because “we have to be better than this.”
“Name me any other example where you can get publicly fired from your job, leave in absolute disgrace, but maintain the right to come to your old workplace as you please,” Torres’s statement said. “I view serving in Congress as the privilege of my lifetime; we cannot allow those who make a mockery of this institution to keep the perks of the job after they’ve been expelled.”
Torres expressed hope that his GOP colleagues would vote in line with him and approve the rule.
Santos is accused of deceiving donors, charging their credit cards without permission, and fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits. These charges are the basis for 23 criminal counts against him. The House Ethics Committee also accused him of “violat[ing] federal criminal laws,” according to a damning report.
The trial for the former GOP lawmaker is set for September. He previously entered a not guilty plea to all charges. Nonetheless, Santos declared back in December that a plea agreement was “not off the table.”
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