Several Republicans are having an "I told you so" moment after Democrat Tom Suozzi on Tuesday won a special election to win back his old New York congressional seat that was formerly held by disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y.
"So who still thinks Republicans helping Democrats kick out Santos was a good idea?," tweeted Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., following Suozzi's win.
"It was a big mistake," Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, told Axios of the decision to oust Santos, whose background was punctuated with lies and fraudulent activity.
In December, following a report conducted by the House Ethics Committee, the House overwhelmingly voted to expel him.
"Santos was a solid vote for the conservative voice and we kicked him out," a Republican told Axios. Another GOP lawmaker claimed their party is "inherently incapable of seeing the actual [problem]," adding that Republicans "will say we shouldn't have done that instead of getting our act together to do what's right."
Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., alleged, "That was a strong Democratic seat to begin with, and for however George Santos presented himself to win that seat, he was successful." Alford continued, "I think now ... those who made decision that George Santos should be expelled, if they're not having second thoughts, they're maybe reevaluating the entire process. You may be able to remove someone from the House, but the repercussions could be greater than letting that person stay."
Some conservatives remained steadfast in the decision to boot Santos, however. Axios reported that Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., told reporters that Santos "was a con man and a crook and shouldn't have been a member of Congress. Perhaps George Santos being honest would have kept one more seat in Congress." Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., told the outlet that he has "absolutely no regrets" about voting Santos out. "That we have a slimmer majority, well that's just the price you pay," he said.
