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Nick LaLota
U.S. Rep Nick LaLota
U.S. Representative Nick LaLota said in a statement on Friday, December 1, that the successful congressional vote that day to expel his fellow Long Island Congressman George Santos from the House of Representatives was “a huge win for New Yorkers.”
Santos, who is under federal indictment on 13 charges related to allegations that he misused campaign funds for personal use, and other alleged misdeeds, was elected to Congress in 2022 as part of a so-called “Red Wave” on Long Island that also saw the Republican LaLota defeat Democratic Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming in the 1st District race to replace Lee Zeldin, a Republican who left Congress to pursue an ultimately failed campaign to unseat State Governor Kathy Hochul.
For the past year, Santos has represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers a big section of mostly western Long Island and a sliver of Queens.
His Pinocchio-like presence in the House has been a thorn in the side of Long Island Republicans including LaLota, who have taken pains to distance themselves from Santos, who was expelled from the House on a vote that saw the entire Long Island congressional delegation — with the exception of Santos himself — vote with more than 100 House Republicans and almost all Democrats to show him the door. The final vote was 311-114.
The “huge win for New Yorkers” was, however, not apparently the view of upstate Republican Representative Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican member of the House, who voted against Santos’s expulsion.
“With the expulsion of George Santos, Nassau and Queens county residents are one giant step closer to having real representation in the House of Representatives,” LaLota said. “Today, my colleagues and I set a strong precedent: A member who lies about everything about themselves to get elected will be expelled so voters can have a chance at a proper election. With George Santos in Washington’s rearview mirror, it’s time to focus on policy issues like the border and our nation’s debt.”
Following his expulsion, Santos lashed out at several Republican congressmen via the social media platform X, including LaLota, whom he charged had been a “no show” at his Board of Elections job while attending law school, as first reported in The Hill, MSN and elsewhere.
“Did Rep Lalota no-show to his taxpayer-funded job while going to school and if so, he can potential have stolen public funds form the tax payers of NY,” Santos raged on X. “I will let the Office of Congressional Ethics determine the validity of this grave allegation raised in his local media.”
“George is just mad the congressman has three actual degrees while he lied about having one,” said LaLota spokesman Will Kiley, via email, in response to the charge.
The Santos expulsion also highlighted the power and critical role that local weekly community newspapers can play to provide accountability for locally promoted candidates such as Santos. The North Shore Leader first raised questions and alarms about Santos’s claims about his personal and work history before he was elected, which would eventually include claims by Santos that his mother was killed as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and that he had lost relatives to the Holocaust. Neither of those claims turned out to be true.
Several months after Santos took office, The New York Times followed up on the North Shore Leader’s reporting with an extensive investigation into Santos’s various fabrications, which also included a claim that he owned a home in “the Hamptons.”
Following his historic expulsion, a special election will be held,on February 13 to replace Santos, a process that was set in motion by Hochul this week. Numerous candidates have already announced that they are running.
