“Expel Him”: George Santos’s Constituents Protest Outside Capitol to Call for His Removal

Dozens of George Santos’s constituents traveled by bus from Long Island, New York, to the Capitol on Tuesday to call for Republican leadership to expel their not-necessarily duly elected congressman. The protesters, joined by New York Representatives Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres, hoisted signs that read, “No taxation w/out honest representation!” and “NY-3 says: It’s time to FIRE the LIAR!”

The protestors, alongside advocacy organization Courage for America and local group Concerned Citizens of NY-03, took the approximately five hour journey to the Capitol to directly deliver a petition to Santos’s office that reportedly has over 1,000 signing constituents calling for Santos’s expulsion.”

“You have to be really psychologically impaired to throw that around like it’s nickels,” said Republican constituent Ben Marzouk, in reference to Santos’s lie about his mother dying during 9/11. “It’s not difficult to see and to do what’s right and wrong. [Speaker Kevin] McCarthy, do the right thing. Expel him. Have some respect, have some dignity, and do the right thing.”

Goldman suggested that House leadership has hesitated to push Santos to resign because “they are concerned that George Santos has information that may be damaging to them about their role in the fraud scheme.” Torres added to the idea, saying the only reason for Santos not to resign is  “to maintain leverage for a plea bargain in the event of criminal prosecution.”

Goldman and Torres’s suggestions aside, Santos resigning would shrink the GOP’s already slim majority in the House, one that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has worked desperately to obtain control over. So it is perhaps unsurprising that, after suggesting the House Ethics Committee was investigating Santos on Tuesday, McCarthy then assured us that it is not in fact doing so.

Santos’s actions have transcended simply being a buffoonish and pathological liar; already under local, federal, and even international investigations for his financial dealings, potential campaign finance violations, lying about his résumé, his fraudulent use of a checkbook owned by an older man in Brazil, and a scam in which Santos raised money off a homeless veteran’s dying service dog, Santos has now been accused of sexual harassment by a prospective staffer.

So, as McCarthy and the Republicans continue to avoid even subjecting Santos to a proper ethics inquiry, know that this is what they’re supporting.

Over the weekend, Representative Lauren Boebert visited the Storehouse Dallas Church in Texas, where the congregation opened up the stage for the Colorado congresswoman to preach to them. During her “sermon,” she professed her deepest hopes, the fundamental beliefs and wishes she imbues her faith into. In particular, she appeared to pray for the death of President Joe Biden.

“Joe Biden’s president. We don’t know what to do, Lord!” Boebert said. “It’s all right, we pray for our presidents. You know, it says, ‘Let his days be few and another take his office.’”

The audience laughed.

“That’s why I filed articles of impeachment for Joe Biden,” Boebert added. “Unfortunately, he does have a really great insurance policy named Kamala Harris,” she finished with a chuckle.

The implication was not just about Biden’s days in office being few.

Boebert said a similar line last June, and specified the noted Bible verse she was referencing, Psalm 109:8, which reads, “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” The following line of the verse reads, “Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.” The surrounding lines call for “evil to oppose” the enemy, for the enemy’s descendants to “be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation.”

Boebert appears to have now unapologetically, and repeatedly, prayed for Biden’s death.

Meanwhile, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene—who, along with Boebert, helped incite a riot on the Capitol, was a special event guest alongside self-proclaimed Nazi and Hitler-lover Nick Fuentes, and has spread conspiracies about Parkland and Sandy Hook—presided over the House on Monday.

The pair’s prominence in the party and freedom to continue behaving so egregiously without any consequence from their own ranks lies in stark contrast to Republicans’ shameless removal of Representative Ilhan Omar from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs last week.

A new report confirms even more details about the Chinese spy balloons that floated in U.S. airspace during the Trump administration, despite Republicans’ vehement protestations to the contrary.

An Air Force intelligence report from April found that a Chinese spy balloon had circled the globe in 2019, passing by Hawaii and flying directly over Florida during its journey, CNN reported Monday.

The report directly contradicts multiple Republican claims that there had been no such incidents during Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump himself and several of his former security and intelligence advisers also insisted there had been no balloon incidents, which is apparently now an actual national security phrase and not a mishap at a traveling circus.

The Department of Defense said in a statement Saturday that at least three suspected Chinese spy balloons had crossed the United States during Trump’s time in office, citing an anonymous senior official.

The Air Force report, which confirms there had been a spy balloon, did not specify when the 2019 balloon passed over Florida. But Trump was at one of his Florida properties 39 days that year, according to a Washington Post analysis, so there is a small chance it could have passed right over his head.

The latest balloon has unleashed one of the weirdest timelines of late, which is no small feat. It has sparked a wave of political fighting, as well as a social media trend of conservative politicians performatively aiming guns at the sky.

The balloon appeared over the U.S. just days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to touch down for his first visit to Beijing. China says the balloon was for weather research and had simply been blown off course—a claim the U.S. rejected.

Blinken’s trip was supposed to ease tensions between the U.S. and China. But now they seem to be inflating.

A Florida school district that covers 48 schools serving over 50,000 students on Tuesday released a fresh list of books to be banned from all school and classroom libraries.

St. John’s County Superintendent Tim Forson reviewed books that were objected to by parents and community members, determining unilaterally that some of the titles must be removed from the school libraries.

“I own this,” Forson said in a school board meeting Tuesday.

Here are the 23 books being banned:

• A Court of Mist and Fury—Sarah J. Maas
• A Court of Thorns and Roses—Sarah J. Maas
• A Court of Wings and Ruin—Sarah J. Maas
• All Boys Aren’t Blue—George Matthew Johnson
• Blanket—Craig Thompson
• Boy Toy—Barry Lyga
• Call Me by Your Name—Andre Aciman
• Damsel—Elana K. Arnold
• Forever—Judy Blume
• Fun Home—Alison Bechdel
• Handmaid’s Tale (graphic novel)—Margaret Atwood, adapted Renee Nault
• House of Earth and Blood—Sarah J. Maas
• I Am Jazz—Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jenning
• I Never—Laura Hooper
• Infandous—Elana K. Arnold
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl—Jesse Andrews
• PUSH—Sapphire
• The Haters—Jesse Andrews
• The Kite Runner—Khaled Hosseini
• The Nowhere Girls—Amy Reed
• Trans+: Love, Sex, Romance, and Being You—Kathryn Gonzales and Karen Rayne
• Water for Elephants—Sarah Gruen
• When Aidan Became a Brother—Kyle Lukoff

Forson noted that some other titles are to be “quarantined” away from libraries and media centers as well, until a final decision is made. Meanwhile, titles like Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey are still subject to review, per the district’s list of books with objections.

Forson’s decision comes in the face of a recently passed Florida law that mandates that books in public schools be subject to review by a “specialist.” The bans more broadly follow an ongoing slew of Florida politicians attacking educators’ and students’ liberties—an assault spearheaded by Florida governor and aspiring fascist Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis has pushed through the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prevents classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity through third grade; lobbied for the Stop Woke Act, which restricts teaching on race in colleges; announced plans to mandate Western civilization courses and defund diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on state college campuses; and barred the inclusion of an Advanced Placement African American history course in Florida schools.

The Florida High School Athletics Association, under DeSantis’s reign, is also recommending requiring student athletes to give their schools detailed information about their periods.

Joe Biden will deliver his second State of the Union address Tuesday night, reflecting on a mixed bag of a year.

His Democrats delivered historic wins in the 2022 midterms, and the economy is improving, but Biden’s approval ratings are still low.

Here is a list of notable guests who will attend the president’s speech.

Tyre Nichols’s parents

The parents of Tyre Nichols, a young Black man who was brutally beaten to death by police officers in Tennessee, will attend the speech. RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells were invited by Steven Horsford, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Five officers have been arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including second-degree murder. Two other officers were fired in connection with the incident.

Nichols’s death has reinvigorated calls for police reform, but it’s unclear if that is possible given how divided Congress is.

Brandon Tsay

Brandon Tsay, 26, disarmed the Monterey Park shooter before he could open fire on a second ballroom dance hall. He was invited to attend the State of the Union by California Representative Judy Chu. According to Chu, Biden also invited Tsay just an hour after she did.

Huu Can Tran had just attacked a ballroom in Monterey Park, California, on January 21—killing 10 people and wounding several more, one of whom would later die from gunshot wounds—when he arrived at Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio. Tsay’s family owns the ballroom, and he helps run the ticket office. Tsay struggled with Tran and was able to wrest the older man’s gun away from him.

Roya Rahmani

Also in attendance Tuesday night will be Roya Rahmani, who served as Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States from 2018 to 2021. The first female Afghan ambassador to the U.S., Rahmani served until July 2021, one month before the Taliban swept back to power in her home country.

Since taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban continues to tighten its grip on the country’s society, including in a huge crackdown on women’s right to education and work.

Rahmani was invited by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, who said he hoped her presence would “send a signal to the women of Afghanistan that they have not been forgotten.”

Michael Brown Sr.

Missouri Representative Cori Bush invited Michael Brown Sr., whose son was killed by police in 2014, to the State of the Union.

Michael Brown Jr. was 18 years old when he was stopped outside a 7-Eleven in his hometown of Ferguson, Missouri. Officer Darren Wilson said Brown attacked him, while Brown’s friend, who was there, said Wilson initiated the scuffle. Wilson ended up shooting Brown dead.

Brown’s death, and later a grand jury’s refusal to indict Wilson, sparked widespread unrest in Ferguson. The killing helped spur the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The police killing of Michael Brown in 2014 is what propelled me and many others into lives dedicated to building a world where Mike would still be here with us,” Bush told Politico. “A world where Tyre Nichols and the thousands of other Black people killed by police could live long, healthy lives full of joy.”

Amanda Zurawski

First Lady Jill Biden has invited Amanda Zurawski, a woman from Austin, Texas, who nearly died when her state’s abortion ban forced her to wait for treatment for pregnancy complications.

Zurawski and her husband Josh Zurawksi first told their story in one of Beto O’Rourke’s final campaign ads for Texas governor. The pair had been trying to get pregnant for more than a year before they finally succeeded. But when she was 18 weeks pregnant, Amanda was diagnosed with an “incompetent cervix,” a condition that causes almost a quarter of second-trimester miscarriages. Her cervix was opening too early and putting the pregnancy at risk.

Texas, however, has banned abortions in all cases except when the pregnant person’s life is at risk. Her doctors were not allowed to terminate Zurawski’s pregnancy and instead had to tell her to come back when she developed a life-threatening infection. Over the next three days, Zurawski developed a bacterial infection that sent her body into sepsis. Doctors were finally able to induce the miscarriage, but she still has mental and physical health complications as a result.

The couple is clear that they blame Texas politicians for the law, not the doctors who feared the repercussions of breaking it.

Mary Kay Henry

Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, will attend the State of the Union as a guest of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Jeffries’s invitation comes after Biden, who promised to be “the most pro-union president” in history, dealt a major blow to unions by calling on Congress in December to block a rail workers’ strike.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is also hoping to make a statement about labor Tuesday night: he invited Pedro Gamboa Bermudez, a baggage handler at New York’s JFK Airport. Bermudez co-founded the SEIU chapter at JFK and helped negotiate the first collective bargaining agreement for the airport workers.

Michael Weinstock

A former firefighter who did rescue work at ground zero during 9/11 will attend the State of the Union—as the guest of George Santos, whose mother famously did not die in the terrorist attack.

Santos, who represents New York, has come under fire and investigation for apparently fabricating the bulk of his background and credentials. In addition to saying his mother survived 9/11 (she was not even in the country), he also seems to have lied about his grandparents fleeing the Holocaust and four of his employees being killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting.

But Michael Weinstock explained he accepted the invitation because he wants to raise awareness about the health of 9/11 responders. He suffers from a neurological condition as a result of his time as an emergency worker.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ll be able to stay focused enough on the issue of 9/11 responders receiving the health care that they need without being sullied by George Santos,” he said.

Sheriff Jeff Smith

New York Representative Elise Stefanik will bring Jeff Smith, a sheriff for one of the counties she represents, to the State of the Union.

Stefanik, who has remained one of Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters in Congress, said she had decided to bring Smith to make a point about rising crime in the United States, which she blames on “Joe Biden’s failed policies.”

The nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice has said that the rise in crime during 2020 and 2021 was due in part to the proliferation of guns—which Republicans such as Stefanik routinely refuse to restrict—and the extreme socioeconomic instability brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Data for 2022 is limited but indicated that violent crime did go down that year.

This post has been updated.