- George Santos crashed the State of the Union and announced a comeback bid for Congress.
- It goes without saying that it will fail. He's still in deep trouble with the law.
Perhaps we should have seen this coming.
On Thursday, George Santos made a surprise appearance at the State of the Union address, making use of the floor privileges that he surprisingly still retains as a former member of Congress, despite an overwhelming expulsion vote in December.
Though he's been denied at least some of the typical post-service perks enjoyed by other former members — the US Association of Former Members of Congress previously told Business Insider they wanted nothing to do with him — it would have taken yet another act of Congress, specifically a resolution by the House, to keep him from ever entering the chamber again.
Hey @POTUS you’re late, RUDE!
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) March 8, 2024
And he decided to use his visit to announce a comeback bid for Congress, launching a primary campaign against Rep. Nick LaLota, one of the New York Republicans who pushed for his expulsion.
He even filed the necessary paperwork during President Joe Biden's speech.
Tonight, I came to the SOTU with an open mind and heart because I believe in the great idea that is the United States of America.
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) March 8, 2024
I just witnessed a weak, frail president deliver spin and lies to the American people from inside the chambers. I have made several personal…
It's the latest stunt for the scandal-plagued lawmaker, who never seemed to take the job of being a member of Congress all that seriously.
Santos made the announcement after being relegated to the back of the chamber, unable to take a seat among his former colleagues — almost half of whom voted to expel him over three months ago, and who may well be willing to do so again.
But he wasn't entirely a pariah on Thursday night.
An hour before the speech, the former New York congressman had briefly parked himself in the seat that Rep. Lauren Boebert had reserved, sitting beside Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Tim Burchett of Tennessee.
"Sinners row," Burchett quipped to Business Insider in a text message.
He later mingled and apparently took selfies with some of the furthest-right members of Congress, some of whom have recently declared that Congress never should have kicked him out in the first place.
Former Rep. George Santos seen on the House floor for #SOTU2024. pic.twitter.com/RTimzV4bvN
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 8, 2024
It was all befitting of a Congress that's done little to dignify itself in the last year.
In terms of legislative productivity, it's been the worst year in modern history. Just 40 bills have been signed into law, a staggeringly low amount even compared to previous periods of divided government. A $95.3 billion bill to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel remains stalled, owing largely to the current speaker of the House's fear that giving the package a vote will lead him to the same ignominious fate that befell his predecessor. House members are retiring in droves, including several Republicans who are young and presumably would have had bright careers ahead of them, had frustration with the state of politics not gotten to them.
The House was without a speaker for 26 days, the bulk of which came after the first successful motion to vacate in American history. Three members of Congress were censured, an increasingly meaningless rebuke that may have backhandedly delivered one of them a Senate seat. It took the House two separate attempts to impeach a cabinet secretary — an effort that few people expect to amount to anything, given Democratic control of the Senate.
It goes without saying that Santos will lose — and that's assuming he's not sentenced to prison for wire fraud, money laundering, and other crimes before the June 25 primary election.
But the content — as Santos himself has said before — would be incredible.