'Get into the slop': House Republicans grapple with expelling George Santos after Democrats flip his seat
WASHINGTON – Some House Republicans are expressing severe regret over their conference’s decision to expel former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., after Democrats flipped his seat in a special election Tuesday night.
Their loss in New York further narrows their already razor-thin majority, which has proved time and time again to make passing conservative priorities significantly harder. On Wednesday, some of the Republicans who were opposed to removing Santos in the first place said they felt vindicated.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said the people who “blew up the GOP majority” are the Republicans who voted to expel Santos.
"Big mistake," Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, told Paste BN of expelling Santos. Nehls was one of a handful of GOP members who spoke on the House floor in defense of Santos after he was overwhelmingly kicked out of the lower chamber. "We have to learn how to win elections."
The GOP, Nehls said, should have stomached Santos' federal charges and lies about his past, saying "the only way you can win elections, is that you have to get into the slop with the pigs." While Santos does face sweeping criminal accusations, he has maintained his innocence and hasn't been tried in court yet.
The members who did vote to evict Santos, however, had no remorse for the choice on Wednesday, saying his removal was worth the tightening of their slim majority.
“I’d kick him out again,” Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, said, noting his mother was a victim of Santos’ alleged campaign fraud schemes. “He defrauded me.”
“Losing sucks,” Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., one of Santos’ fellow New York Republicans, told Paste BN. “It was always going to be difficult in the aftermath of Santos to hold his seat.”
When asked whether he had regrets about removing a fellow Republican, only for that seat to flip over to Democrats, Molinaro emphasized he had “none.”
“Confronting corruption is something we’re supposed to do, and there are a lot of things that have made this session very challenging. His very existence – George Santos – was something that should have never happened,” he added.
Former Rep. Tom Suozzi D-N.Y., reclaimed his old seat on Tuesday evening, defeating Republican Mazi Pilip by more than six points in what is considered a battleground district heading into the 2024 elections.
But the special election, which was viewed as a small preview into the 2024 general elections has drawn worry from some House Republicans
One of those lawmakers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to vent about party strategy, lamented that Republicans have struggled to define themselves on immigration debates, especially after they rejected a bipartisan border deal from the Senate earlier this month.
“Nobody knows what H.R. 2 is,” the Republican said, referring to House Republicans’ hardline border and immigration bill that passed last year. The legislation, which received no votes from House Democrats, is a non-starter in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Suozzi on the campaign trail took direct aim at House Republicans for calling the southern border a crisis and immediate emergency, only for them to reject the Senate’s bipartisan border deal.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., denied the possibility that House Republicans’ right-wing positions impacted the New York race.
“The product that was produced by the Senate did not solve the problem,” Johnson said at a news conference. arguing “the American people are with us," even though Republicans saw a loss Tuesday night.
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of House Republicans, also tried to downplay the loss to reporters on Wednesday morning, saying Suozzi won in part because he was harsher on immigration than some of his fellow Democrats.
Democratic organizers, Hudson argued, spent a disproportionate amount of campaign cash on a district that President Joe Biden won by eight points in the 2020 presidential election.
“They spent $15 million,” Hudson said. “I promise you I won’t spend $15 million on a Trump +8 (district).”
Regardless, Hudson reflected that Republicans could have done a better job encouraging early voting. When asked about former President Donald Trump, considered the de-facto leader of the GOP, heavily criticizing early voting, Hudson deflected.
“I think the president understands what we’re saying. There’s a difference between mail ballots and in-person (voting). These are certainly conversations we’ll have with the president,” he said.
But even if Republicans coalesce around an early voting strategy − or talk up their immigration policies on the campaign trail − one factor remained clear on Wednesday. GOP lawmakers were pointing fingers at Democrats and their fellow Republicans alike as they grappled with losing a pivotal New York seat in 2024.