Former U.S. Representative George Santos announced Tuesday that he is dropping his longshot bid to return to Congress. The decision comes months after he was expelled from the House while facing a slew of federal fraud charges. Santos, who was running as an independent candidate for New York’s 1st Congressional District, said he was withdrawing from the race in a post on social media platform X. The announcement followed reports that his campaign committee had no fundraising or expenditures in March, leading to speculation that it had failed to gain momentum.
Santos’s departure from the race marks the end of a tumultuous political chapter for the former congressman. He was expelled from the House in December following an ethics committee report that found “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking and determined that he “cannot be trusted.” Santos has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that include deceiving Congress about his wealth, stealing from his campaign, and obtaining unemployment benefits he did not deserve. His trial is tentatively scheduled for later this year.
In his social media post, Santos did not rule out seeking office in the future. “It’s only goodbye for now,” he wrote, “I’ll be back.” It remains to be seen whether Santos will attempt another run for Congress or pursue other political aspirations. However, his decision to drop out of the current race is a significant development that signals the end of his hopes to return to the House in the near future.
