Despite fierce calls from both sides of the political aisles for Long Island Rep. George Santos to resign, the rookie Republican congressman has refused to do so even after admitting to several lies about his education, employment and family history.
He has since been charged with making false statements, fraud, money laundering and other crimes in a 13-count federal indictment to which he has pleaded not guilty. (Read it here.) Santos insisted Wednesday after his arraignment that the court developments haven't shaken his resolve when it comes to not stepping down.
What Happens If George Santos Resigns?
Under the House Vacancy Clause in the U.S. Constitution, states have "Executive Authority" to hold a special election if a seat in the House becomes vacant. Each state can determine its own timing and circumstances of the election. In the state of New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul would have 10 days to call a special election to replace Santos, which would have to be held 70 to 80 days from the date of that proclamation -- if Santos resigns this year, during the first session of a Congress.
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If Santos resigns during the second session of Congress, the amount of time between the vacancy and the next general election would play a role. Unlike the Seventeenth Amendment, which allows states to temporarily fill a vacant Senate seat before a special election is held, the House Vacancy Clause does not give states the same power in the House.
Since 1977, the state of New York has had 13 vacancies in the House: 11 were resignations, one was a death and another vacancy was due to a lack of a Certificate of Election (because the race was too close to call,) according to historical records.
Notable House Resignations in New York
Politics
Rep. Tom Reed (R)
Reed, a Republican who represented the 23rd district in western New York, resigned in May 2022, seven months before the end of his term and after he announced he will not seek re-election. It came after he was accused of rubbing a female lobbyist’s back and unhooking her bra without her consent in 2017.
He was replaced by Joseph Sempolinski in a special election.
Delgado, a Democrat who represented New York's 19th congressional district and was the first person of color to represent upstate New York in Congress, resigned in 2022 to become Gov. Hochul's lieutenant governor.
Democrat Pat Ryan, the former Ulster County executive, won Delgado's seat in Congress in August in a special election to finish out the term. He then ran again in November's general election, and won again.
Collins, a Republican congressman from western New York, resigned from his seat in September 2019 ahead of an expected guilty plea in an insider trading case in which he was accused of leaking confidential information during an urgent phone call made from a White House picnic.
Voters elected Republican Chris Jacobs to replace Collins. In 2022, Jacobs said he would not run for another term in Congress amid backlash over his support for new gun control measures.
Rep. Michael Grimm (R)
Grimm, who represented New York's 13th and 11th congressional districts, resigned after pleading guilty in 2014 to a single count of tax fraud in federal court.
Then-Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, who empaneled the grand jury that declined to indict the officer who placed Eric Garner in the fatal chokehold, was elected to fill the seat.
Rep. Chris Lee (R)
Lee, of the 26th Congressional District, resigned in 2011 after Gawker.com published a shirtless cell phone photo and emails he reportedly sent to a woman on Craigslist.
Kathy Hochul replaced him following a special election, but then lost to Chris Collins after the district was redrawn before the 2021 general election.
Embattled Rep. Weiner announced his resignation from Congress in 2011 — 20 days after he misfired a photo of his groin onto Twitter, unraveling a scandal that eventually revealed a series of sexual relationships with women he met online and lies he told to cover it up.
Republican Robert L. Turner was elected to replace Weiner, and served until 2013.
Rep. Eric Massa (D)
Congressman Massa resigned his seat in 2010 after reports surfaced saying Massa was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly sexually harassing a male staffer. The Democrat, who represented New York's 29th congressional district, released a statement taking full responsibility for things said to a staff member that made him feel "uncomfortable."
Republican Tom Reed (who as previously mentioned would go on to resign from Congress as well) was elected to replace Massa.
Longtime Democratic Rep. Slaughter, who represented New York districts for more than three decades, died in March 2018 of injuries sustained in a fall at her Washington, D.C., home. Slaughter was 88 years old.
