(HorizonPost.com) – Former New York Republican Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from the House last year, filed paperwork last Thursday to run for the House again, the Washington Post reported.
In paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission (FCC) on March 7, Santos indicated his intention to launch a primary challenge to Republican Rep. Nick LaLota in NY-01, a Republican-leaning district in Long Island, east from the district Santos previously represented.
Also running in NY-01 is former CNN host John Avlon, who is one of several Democrats vying for the seat. In a post on X, Avlon said of Santos’ possible entrance into the race that “the circus just came to NY-01.”
On the same day Santos filed, he made an unexpected appearance in the Capitol to attend President Biden’s State of the Union Address.
Despite his expulsion, Santos retains some privileges as a former member of the House, including access to the House chamber. According to CNN, before the president’s address, Republican staffers asked Santos to move to the back to make room for current members.
Santos announced his primary challenge against Rep. LaLota while attending the president’s address in a post on X. The disgraced former congressman said he would be “returning to the arena of politics” to run in the New York Republican primary for NY-01.
Santos said in his post that he looked forward to debating LaLota “on his weak record as a Republican.”
Santos was expelled in a bipartisan vote in December, one of only six members of the House to face expulsion and the first in over 20 years after the House Ethics Committee released a report accusing the serial fabulist of misconduct, including violating federal ethics laws.
Following the release of the report, Santos announced that he would not be seeking reelection in 2024, saying his family did not deserve to be “under the gun from the press all the time.”
Santos was also indicted in May 2023 on 23 federal charges, including money laundering, fraud, falsifying records, and aggravated identity theft. He pleaded not guilty.
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