Former Long Island GOP Rep. George Santos announced Friday he is leaving the Republican Party and running for Congress as an independent in November.
Santos, who became the sixth member to ever be expelled from the House of Representatives Dec. 1, took to X in a fit of pique to excoriate Republicans who voted through a $1.2 trillion spending bill to fund the government through Sept. 30.
“After today’s embarrassing showing in the house [sic] I have reflected and decided that I can no longer be part of the Republican Party,” the 35-year-old former House member and habitual liar vented.
“The Republican Party continues to lie and swindle its voter base. I in good conscience cannot affiliate myself with a party that stands for nothing and falls for everything.”
Earlier this month, Santos made a surprise cameo at President Biden’s State of the Union address and said he would challenge Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) for his seat in the First Congressional District, which covers most of Suffolk County on eastern Long Island.
“I am officially suspending my petitioning in #NY01 to access the ballot as a Republican and will be filling to run as an independent,” Santos added in his Friday X post.
“I will take my Ultra MAGA/Trump supporting values to the ballot in November as an Independent.”
Santos is expected to stand trial before the general election after being hit with a superseding federal indictment in October, charging him with 23 counts including laundering campaign funds and defrauding donors.
The following month, Santos announced he would not seek re-election after a damning House Ethics Committee probe concluded that he leveraged “every aspect” of his 2022 House campaign for personal profit.
Santos griped online about House Republicans moving forward with the Friday spending package, calling on Johnson to “in the name of Jesus please shut down the government!” and taking a swipe at the incumbent.
“Hey @nicklalota you can’t control yourself can you? Screwing the American people is your favorite sport and lying to the Republican base is with your ‘commitment to America’ seems to be your record!” he posted.
Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took the drastic step of filing a motion to vacate against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) mid-vote, with Santos cheering her on via social media.
“They just passed a funding bill that doesn’t secure our border, does nothing to stop the daily invasion,” Greene (R-Ga.) told CNN. “It’s time for real leadership.”
“I want to restore this country back to greatness again, back to safety, back to security because right now we don’t have it and that’s the fault of the Democrats and the Biden administration,” she said.
“Amen!” Santos replied on X after her press scrum on the House steps defending the move.
New York’s First District primary is scheduled for June 25, with LaLota running unopposed and several Democratic candidates — including former CNN personality John Avlon — vying for their party’s nomination.