George Santos Might Be Expelled From Congress This Week, but the Good News Is He May Still Be Allowed to Use the House Gym, Parking Garages, and Dining Room

At some point this week, George Santos might finally be expelled from Congress—following the release of an incredibly damning report from the House Ethics Committee that accused him of engaging in criminal activity (which, to be clear, he’s already been charged with by federal prosecutors*). “I know I’m going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor,” Santos said during a conversation on X Spaces on Friday. “I’ve done the math over and over, and it doesn’t look really good.” For his part, the New York congressman, who was exposed as a serial liar shortly after being elected last year—and has continued spinning yarns in the ensuing 11 months—is obviously not taking his likely booting from Congress very well, accusing his colleagues of being drunk felons who have sex with lobbyists every night. Who else is struggling to contain their reaction? That would be Marjorie Taylor Greene, the House’s resident drunk mom at the PTA auction who’s been asked to leave more than once.

On Monday, Greene wrote on X: “Let me get this straight. The Republican majority controlled Congress has ousted a Republican Speaker and is now on the verge of expelling a not yet convicted Republican member, but we can’t even impeach [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas or [President Joe] Biden or stop the weaponized DOJ against [Donald] Trump and all their political enemies?”

Yes, Greene—who doesn’t even know the difference between the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI—is absolutely enraged that her GOP colleagues are considering ousting a lawmaker who (1) has admitted to fabricating large parts of his biography and (2) has been accused, by both prosecutors and Republicans who sit on the Ethics Committee, of scamming his own donors…among other things. Greene has long been obsessed with impeaching Biden, a task that new House Speaker Mike Johnson has reportedly indicated is not a main priority right now given the president’s declining poll numbers. Earlier this month, eight GOP lawmakers crossed party lines to block the effort to impeach Mayorkas, leading to this:

Though his congressional seat is on the line, the New York Republican may still have some things to look forward to. Per Insider:

“He will become a former member of Congress,” said Daniel Schuman, the director of governance at the Popvox Foundation. “Former members of Congress have a lot of privileges.” Those privileges—which would also apply if he resigned—typically include the ability to walk onto the House floor, use lawmakers-only facilities, and even purchase (and perhaps auction off) their own office furniture.

Under House rules and by custom, former lawmakers—as long as they’re not registered lobbyists—have typically been allowed access to the House gym as long as they pay a fee. They can also use parking garages in the Capitol complex and have access to “seating in the House restaurant facilities and members’ dining room,” according to the Congressional Research Service.

And while showing up to use the House ellipticals after being expelled from Congress seems like something Santos would very much do, Schuman also noted to Insider that Republicans “could pass a resolution to exclude him from the House.”

Anyway, here’s a giant Santos balloon currently on display near the Capitol:

*and pleaded not guilty to