Ousted, scandal-scarred former Rep. George Santos announces plan to run for reelection

WASHINGTON – Disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., announced he will once again run for Congress after being kicked out by his fellow members.

Santos – who was expelled from the House after a litany of flagrant lies and multiple criminal charges – will run against sitting Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y.

"Tonight, I want to announce that I will be returning to the arena of politics and challenging Nick," Santos said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The news came in the middle of President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech. Santos returned to the lower chamber for the occasion for the first time since he was expelled.

He wrote on X that he "made several personal sacrifices in the name of serving the American people" and said he "will never back down because of my love for this country."

LaLota is a first-term congressman representing New York's 1st Congressional District. The district, covering eastern Long Island, is considered a "likely Republican" seat, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Santos was indicted on 23 counts of multiple federal crimes, including lying to the Federal Election Commission, identity theft, money laundering, wire fraud and theft of public funds.

He was expelled from Congress after a House Ethics Committee report also found substantial evidence he misused campaign money for his own benefit. He was the first House member to be kicked out of his seat by his peers without supporting the Confederacy or first being convicted of a federal crime.

As he left that day in early December, he told reporters: "To hell with this place."

His tenure in Congress was marked from the beginning: Shortly after he was elected, reporters showed he had fabricated significant portions of his resume and background. He falsely claimed that he had worked at Goldman Sachs and that his grandmother was a Holocaust survivor.

Members of both parties called for his to resign, but he insisted on staying in his seat as the charges rolled in.

The 56-page ethics report argued Santos exploited his House campaign committee for his personal financial benefit, including "blatantly" stealing from his own campaign and deceiving donors. He allegedly used $50,000 in campaign money to pay off his personal debts and spent money at Hermes, Sephora and OnlyFans, a subscription service for explicit content.

“Representative George Santos cannot be trusted. At nearly every opportunity, he placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles,” the report reads.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ousted Rep. George Santos announces plan to run for reelection