Global Courant 2023-05-12 01:00:00
New York Republican Congressman George Santos was recently indicted in a US federal court on 13 charges ranging from wire fraud and money laundering to lying to Congress. His fight to stay out of prison has just begun and time will tell if he will prevail.
However, his legal predicament has left the Republican leadership of the House trapped on all sides, with no hope of emerging from this political quagmire unscathed. Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy has announced that he will not advocate for Santos’ resignation as he is defending his legal defense against the numerous charges brought against him.
This follows a pattern that past members of Congress have faced when facing criminal charges. In fact, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez will continue to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while under criminal investigation. He also served in the upper chamber during his trial on corruption charges, a case in which he was acquitted by a hung jury.
What makes the Santos situation different is that while the Republican leadership of the House supports the congressman who remains a member of the lower chamber, ordinary members, including Republican lawmakers, are calling loudly for the impeachment of the freshmen.
Speaker McCarthy’s caucus currently holds a very narrow four-seat majority in the House of Representatives. Removing Santos shrinks an already slim lead and makes the daunting task of garnering votes even more difficult. In addition, with a record 15 votes to determine the Speaker of the House, Representative Elect Santos supported McCarthy’s candidacy on every vote. Santos was and still is a loyal and concrete voice for McCarthy’s agenda.
Most recently, Republican-backed legislation to raise the debt ceiling narrowly passed with the support of Congressman Santos. McCarthy’s majority, like his speakership, is hanging by the thinnest thread and he can’t afford to lose votes, let alone members. Therefore, it would be politically unwise to resign Santos or force such a move.
Looking ahead to the 2024 election, however, control of the lower chamber will be up for grabs and Santos’ impeachment is a dark cloud that will loom over the entire House Republican caucus. Yet no members are more affected than newly elected Republicans from the New York area who, like Santos, switched seats from Democrat to Republican in 2022, putting Republicans in control and giving McCarthy the gavel he so eagerly sought. desired.
It is these seats, including Santos’, that are directly responsible for the small majority currently held by Republicans. Yet many of these new legislators are in their first term and remain vulnerable to the democratic challenges that are sure to arise.
Santos’ litany of alleged lies and scheming will no doubt be used against every Republican freshman New York legislator. The vociferous calls from New York Republicans for his resignation will be drowned out by Democratic challengers and the leftist apparatus eager to take control of the House of Representatives.
This leaves speaker McCarthy staring at both an immediate and a future political conundrum. If Santos is now a clear and unequivocal supporter, the slim majority becomes even more vulnerable. Allow him to remain a member of the caucus, and the Democrats’ chances of retaking the House in 2024 grow exponentially.
McCarthy’s appointment to the gavel once again underscores the fragility of his power as he succumbs to the weaknesses of Santos’s malfeasance. Nothing is safe and the power that underpins the Republican majority remains on shaky ground.
To make matters worse for the Speaker, Santos has no intention of resigning and vows to fight the charges. Like former US President Donald Trump, the titular head of the GOP, Santos’ criminal saga will play out in the headlines at a time when the speaker is trying to gain the upper hand in the debt ceiling negotiations with the White House; the upcoming budget; and war expenditure to Ukraine. It’s an unnecessary distraction that could cripple McCarthy’s bargaining position.
Still, Santos’ loyalty and unwavering support to the Republican leadership in the House is beyond question. To spare Speaker McCarthy, and perhaps himself, further embarrassment, Santos voluntarily stepped down from assigned committees when his traces of alleged lies came to light. Perhaps just as importantly, in a caucus where vote counting has become a complete mystery, he has been a steadfast and steady voice on important issues for leadership.
However, his denunciation and ensuing belligerence are now becoming costly to his caucus and particularly to Speaker McCarthy. His indictment puts the Speaker in an untenable position as McCarthy faces administrative challenges and harsh political terrain in 2024.
Lies. Corruption. Indictment. Santos may be the culprit, but the Speaker will bear the brunt of the political fallout. Doing something or doing nothing comes at a very high price for the man who has courted the gavel all his career. Now it’s all about a man whose supposed lawlessness seems to have finally caught up with him. This dragnet has not only ensnared its inevitable target, but also the political fate of an entire caucus, including the man at the top!
