Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15) announced Monday he is introducing a resolution to censure Rep. George Santos (NY-03), another attempt by Democrats to reprimand the GOP congressman who has been charged in a 13-count federal indictment and condemned by colleagues and constituents for his fraudulent actions.

The 3rd Congressional District covers parts of Nassau and Queens.

Torres’ resolution states that Santos “repeatedly lied to voters in his district, donors, and the American public during his campaign to be elected to Congress,” and that he deliberately lied about his educational background, being Jewish and that his grandparents survived the Holocaust.

“If you are a member of Congress who has informally condemned Mr. Santos, then you should have no trouble formally censuring him,” Torres told The New York Times. “He has disgraced the institution, and the institution should speak with one voice against his misconduct.”

Torres, who represents the South Bronx, tweeted that House Republicans have been protecting Santos for too long.

“Stop treating Mr. Santos as untouchable,” Torres tweeted. “The time has come for Congress to hold him accountable.”

A censure is a vote taken by a chamber in Congress to express deep disapproval for a Congressmember’s actions as a “form of public rebuke,” according to the House’s history website. House rules state that a censure is reserved for serious offenses.

A censure must be passed with a majority vote in the chamber taking the action.

If passed, the member of Congress who is censured stands in front of the chamber and has their censure read to them. There are no further consequences for a member who is censured.

The House of Representatives has censured 25 members, including most recently Democrat Adam Schiff (CA-30) on June 21. Schiff, former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was censured for “misleading the American public and for conduct unbecoming of an elected member of the House of Representatives.” He led investigations against former President Donald Trump.

No vote has been taken to censure Santos yet.

Santos was charged in a 13-count federal indictment in May, followed by his arrest. His indictment includes seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to Congress.

Santos has admitted to lying about his education and work history, but he has not
addressed other inconsistencies and has equivocated when asked about his business dealings and how they related to his political efforts.

Federal prosecutors accused Mr. Santos of orchestrating a scheme to solicit political contributions that he used for personal expenses; of fraudulently receiving more than $24,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits while he was actually employed; and of knowingly making false statements on House financial disclosure forms.

He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges in a June court appearance.

If convicted of the top charges, Santos could face up to 20 years in prison.

Santos is also being investigated by the House Ethics Committee, but their findings have yet to be released. Republican House members rejected a Democratic proposal to expel Santos from the House following his arrest, deferring the decision to the Ethics Committee.