Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was in a celebratory mood Wednesday evening after surviving a bipartisan effort to expel him from Congress.
“Tonight was a victory for due process not me,” Santos wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after the vote. “This was never about me, and I’ll never let it become about me. We all have rights under this great Constitutional Republic and I’ll fight for our right to uphold them till my last dying breath.”
The post included a meme of Santos wearing a crown with the words, “If you come for me, you best not miss.”
Santos later deleted the post and reposted it without the meme.
The embattled first term Republican lawmaker is accused of lying about his personal, professional and religious background while running for Congress and has been indicted on multiple federal charges.
Santos’ fellow New York Republicans led the effort to boot him from Congress arguing that he is not fit to serve.
The effort ultimately fell well short of the two-thirds majority needed to be successful.
179 lawmakers, including 24 Republicans, voted in favor of Santos’ expulsion. 213 lawmakers, including 31 Democrats, voted against and 19 voted present.
Santos faces 23 felony counts of crimes including wire fraud, credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft and falsifying records.
