House Democrats shelve effort to censure George Santos — for now

• House Democrats are punting an effort to force a vote on censuring Rep. George Santos.
• That's despite the measure likely having enough bipartisan support to pass.

For a moment, it seemed as if Rep. George Santos was about to be censured by the House of Representatives — even though it's controlled by his fellow Republicans.

Several Republicans had indicated that they would support the measure, introduced by a trio of Democratic congressmen, that would have formally reprimanded the New York Republican for offenses including "hurtful lies and mistruths that have broken the trust of his constituents."

At a press conference last week, Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York — the primary sponsor of the resolution — said that he would consult leadership on exactly when he would force a vote on the measure, but said the "likely timeline is before the August recess."

In order to meet that timeline, Torres would have had to do so on Wednesday. He did not.

After this week, lawmakers will not return to Washington en masse until September 12, meaning the vote will not happen, at minimum, for several weeks.

The Democratic trio — which also includes Rep. Robert Garcia of California and Rep. Dan Goldman of New York — had pitched their effort as a backstop against an ongoing House Ethics Committee inquiry into Santos' misdeeds.

Garcia forced a vote in May on expelling Santos, but New York Republicans — who otherwise loath their scandal-plagued colleague — voted to table that measure, with Rep. Nick LaLota of New York telling Axios that he expected the ethics committee to produce a result "within 60 days" and that Santos would "be gone, by resignation or expulsion, before August recess."

That 60-day timeline elapsed last week. The ethics committee, even as it continues its probe into Santos despite ongoing federal criminal proceedings against the congressman, is known for moving at a glacial pace.

Santos already does not serve on any committees, owing to his fabrications about his background, and he has struggled to attract legislative allies or pass any bills during his tenure.

But he is continuing to seek re-election, despite the wishes of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a 13-count federal indictment that includes charges of fraud and money laundering.

If the censure effort eventually succeeds, Santos would become the 26th member of Congress in American history to be formally censured by the House.

But the effort to censure Santos is also occurring against the backdrop of an increasing frenzy by Democrats and Republicans to censure individuals of the opposing party for various reasons, after Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California was censured on a party-line vote last month over Republican grievances about his handling of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Those other censure efforts include:

• A resolution by Democratic Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont to censure Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia for her history of offensive remarks and conduct. Greene was booted from serving on committees during the previous Congress on a bipartisan vote for similar reasons.
• A resolution pushed by an anonymous Democratic lawmaker to censure Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona for sharing links to websites that platform Holocaust denialism and anti-Semitism via his weekly newsletter. Gosar was already censured and booted from his committees during the previous Congress for sharing an anime video depicting him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
• A resolution by Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee to censure Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington for calling Israel a "racist state." Jayapal has since clarified her remarks, and the House held a vote on a resolution last week stating that Israel is "not a racist or apartheid state."

But unlike those efforts, the Santos censure effort enjoys bipartisan support, and would likely pass when it's eventually brought to the floor.