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George Santos is far from the first member of Congress to be indicted while in office. Both chambers and both parties have endured their share of scandals. In 2005, for instance, F.B.I. agents discovered $90,000 hidden in the freezer of Representative William Jefferson, who was under investigation for bribery. He refused to step down, wound up losing his seat in the 2008 election, and was later sentenced to 13 years in prison. James Traficant was expelled from Congress in 2002 after being convicted of bribery and racketeering. Bob Ney resigned in 2006 because of his involvement in a federal bribery scandal.

But in one way, Mr. Santos is different from other members of Congress who have demonstrated moral failures, ethical failures, failures of judgment and blatant corruption and lawbreaking in office. What he did was to deceive the very voters who brought him to office in the first place, undermining the most basic level of trust between an electorate and a representative. These misdeeds erode the faith in the institution of Congress and the electoral system through which American democracy functions.

For that reason, House Republican leaders should have acted immediately to protect that system by allowing a vote to expel Mr. Santos and joining Democrats in removing him from office. Instead not wanting to lose Mr. Santoss crucial vote Speaker Kevin McCarthy pushed a measure to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee, notorious for its glacial pace, and the House voted predictably along party lines on Wednesday afternoon to follow that guidance.

If the House doesnt reverse that vote under public pressure, its incumbent on the Ethics Committee to conduct a timely investigation and recommend expulsion to the full House, where a two-thirds vote will be required to send Mr. Santos back to Long Island.

Mr. Santos was arrested and arraigned in federal court last week on 13 criminal counts linked primarily to his 2022 House campaign. Mr. McCarthy and other members of the Republican leadership effectively shrugged, indicating that they would let the legal process play itself out, as the conferences chair, Elise Stefanik, put it.

In addition to expulsion, the Republican leaders have several official disciplinary measures they could pursue, such as a formal reprimand or censure, but so far, they have done little more than express concern. Mr. McCarthy has several tough legislative fights looming, including negotiations over the federal budget to avoid a government default, and Mr. Santoss removal might imperil the G.O.P.s slim majority. In effect, Mr. Santoss bad faith has made him indispensable.

His constituents believed he held certain qualifications and values, only to learn after Election Day that they had been deceived. Now they have no recourse until the next election.

The question, then, is whether House Republican leaders and other members are willing to risk their credibility for a con man, someone whose entire way of life his origin story, rsum, livelihood is based on a never-ending series of lies. Of course they should not be. They should have demonstrated to the American people that there is a minimum ethical standard for Congress and used the power of expulsion to enforce it. They should have explained to voters that their commitment to democracy and public trust goes beyond their partys political goals.

At least some Republican lawmakers recognize what is at stake and are speaking out. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah reiterated his view that Mr. Santos should do the honorable thing and step aside, saying, He should have resigned a long time ago. He is an embarrassment to our party. He is an embarrassment to the United States Congress.

Similarly, Anthony DEsposito and Mike Lawler, both representing districts in New York, are among several House Republicans advocating his resignation. Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas has gone a step further, calling for Mr. Santoss expulsion and a special election to replace him. The people of New Yorks 3rd district deserve a voice in Congress, he wrote on Twitter.

Mr. Gonzales gets at the heart of the matter. Mr. Santos has shown contempt for his constituents and for the electoral process. Mr. McCarthy and the other Republican House leaders owe Americans more.

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Opinion | George Santos Must Be Held Accountable by Republican Leaders - The New York Times

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will announce his candidacy for president on Monday and will enter the race with around $22 million cash on hand, making him one of the most serious competitors for the front-runner, Donald J. Trump, even as Mr. Scott has hovered around 2 percent in Republican primary polls.

After announcing his campaign in his hometown, North Charleston, Mr. Scott will head to Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states of the Republican nominating contest. Mr. Scotts campaign has reserved around $6 million in advertisements across television and radio in those states, according to an adviser with direct knowledge of Mr. Scotts plans. The Scott campaign also plans to spend millions of dollars on digital ads that will target Iowa and New Hampshire voters and will run through the first Republican primary debate, scheduled to be held in August.

Mr. Scott, the most influential elected Black conservative in America, has a compelling life story around which he is expected to build his campaign. He portrays his rise from poverty to become the first Black senator from South Carolina and the only Black Republican in the Senate as an embodiment of the American dream.

Mr. Scott rarely criticizes Mr. Trump directly, but his message could not be more different from the former presidents. While Mr. Trump talks ominously of retribution his promise to gut the civil service and law enforcement agencies that he pejoratively calls the deep state Mr. Scott prefers the sunny language of Ronald Reagan.

Americans are losing one of the most inspirational truths we have, which is hope hope that things can and will get better, hope that education and hard work can equal prosperity, hope that we remain a city on a hill, a shining example of what can be when free people decide to join hands in self-governance, Mr. Scott said in a speech last year at the Reagan Library on the future of the Republican Party.

America stands at a crossroads, he said, with the potential for a great resetting, a renewal, even a rebirth where we get to choose how we will meet the potential of today and the promise of tomorrow.

There is little evidence, so far, that Mr. Scotts message strikes a chord with the populist base of the modern G.O.P., which for the last several years has been led by a former TV star who likes to fight. For years, the Republican base has fed on apocalyptic talk that often casts Democrats as enemies bent on destroying America. In a party dominated by Mr. Trumps message of American carnage, Mr. Scotts talk of the importance of unity, hope and redemption can sound like a message from another time.

Mr. Scotts campaign will have to balance his inherently optimistic message against the brutal realities of Republican primary politics.

We will be authentic to Mr. Scotts optimistic vision, but were also not in any way afraid to draw contrasts where we need to, said the adviser with knowledge of Mr. Scotts plans.

Mr. Scott will have more than enough money to find out if theres a bigger market for his ideas than the polls suggest. His support for pro-business policies has made him a favorite of the Republican donor class, and he has billionaires like the Oracle founder Larry Ellison who was aligned with Mr. Trump while he was in the White House who are willing to put millions of dollars behind his campaign.

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Flush With Campaign Cash, Tim Scott Is Set to Join '24 Race - The New York Times

All but three Republicans in the Oregon state Senate have now made themselves ineligible to serve another term under a voter-approved state law intended to prevent walkouts.

Six Republican senators, including Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, hit their 10th unexcused absence on Thursday morning. Three other Republicans and an independent senator reached that threshold earlier this week, meaning one-third of the Senate is now barred from serving another term because of a constitutional amendment voters approved last year.

Republicans initially said the walkout stemmed from the Senate failing to comply with a state law that requires bill summaries to be written at an eighth-grade reading level, though theyve since acknowledged that theyre also protesting Democratic bills around abortion, gender-affirming care and guns.

On Thursday, Democrats all stood when called on for attendance and remained standing until after a somber-faced Senate sergeant at arms returned from a fruitless hunt for missing Republican senators around the building.

This walkout must end, said Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego. The people of Oregon desire it. Democracy demands it.

As they have on previous days, Republican senators showed up at the Capitol after Wagner conceded that they couldnt be found. Minutes after the floor session ended, Knopp walked into his office, where stacks of pink slips delivered by groups who wanted the walkout to end rested on a table behind an office manager.

Activists with a coalition of progressive groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Our Oregon, dropped off more pink slips, cake and happy retirement balloons at the Senate Republican office later in the morning.

Distraught Democrats huddled in a conference room off the floor for more than an hour after giving up on voting on bills. Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Beaverton, told reporters after that meeting that she was sad because she enjoyed working with Republican colleagues who will be unable to serve.

Part of why Im so deeply saddened is because I really truly believe in democracy, and I do feel like Im watching with the front row seat a fracture in that democracy, Lieber said. No one gets everything they want in a democracy either. So when you have a minority who wants to veto the majority rule, it undermines the faith in democracy and the stability of our state.

Public sector unions and other Democratic groups succeeded in passing an amendment to the state constitution last year to prohibit any lawmaker with 10 unexcused absences during a session from serving in their next term.

Republicans contend that the new law violates the state constitution, and theyre raising funds to fight it in court. As of Thursday afternoon, their Oregons 13 Constitutional Defense Fund had reported raising just more than $1,200.

Six of the senators with 10 absences Knopp, independent Sen. Brian Boquist of Dallas and Republican Sens. Lynn Findley of Vale, Bill Hansell of Athena, Dennis Linthicum of Klamath Falls and Art Robinson of Cave Junction represent districts with elections in 2024.

Hansell announced his retirement earlier this year. Knopp said Thursday he needed to talk to his family and employer about running for re-election, but that he would do so if it were solely his choice. His Bend-based district voted overwhelmingly for Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020, and political analysts considered Knopps re-election a longshot before the walkout.

Republican Sens. Daniel Bonham of The Dalles, Cedric Hayden of Fall Creek, Kim Thatcher of Keizer and Suzanne Weber of Tillamook also have 10 absences, but their seats arent up for election until 2026. Both Thatcher and Weber represent swing districts.

Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, has been excused for weeks for medical reasons, and Sens. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, and David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, have been on the floor. Anderson and Brock Smith are both up for election in 2024: Anderson in a coastal district that narrowly voted for Biden and Brock Smith in a conservative district in southwestern Oregon.

Wagner said he wont consider retroactively excusing absences if Republicans and Democrats reach an agreement. As of Thursday, the two parties had no plans to resume negotiations, with Wagner saying Democrats needed a day to collectively catch their breath and decide what to do.

Democrats will try to find at least one more Republican senator to join Anderson and Brock Smith on the floor and hope Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Troutdale, returns soon from recovering from surgery, Wagner said.

Maybe now that theyre disqualified from running for re-election, theyll look to their district, theyll look to their service and say, I will come to the floor and debate, he said.

Knopp said he and other Republicans will return before the Legislature must adjourn on June 25, and theyll vote to clear procedural hurdles to make it possible to pass a budget. But Wagner said he wont allow that.

He went back and watched the speech Gov. Tina Kotek, then speaker of the House, gave in March 2020 when Republicans led by then-Minority Leader Christine Drazan, a Canby Republican who later ran against Kotek for governor, left the state for weeks to block a vote on a climate change bill.

Tina at the end of her floor speech said You dont get to come back with 12 hours left, Leader Drazan, and determine just the bills and the budgets that you want to vote, Wagner said. Thats not what democracy is. It just isnt, and so the same standard is going to apply here.

Lieber and Wagner said Knopp ultimately told them they needed to kill four bills: House Bill 2002, Senate Joint Resolution 33 and Senate Bill 27, all of which deal with abortion and transgender health care, as well as House Bill 2005, which would increase the minimum age to buy most firearms from 18 to 21 years old, ban untraceable firearms known as ghost guns and allow local government agencies to ban firearms in public buildings.

Knopp denied that he demanded the bills be killed, saying he thought they could be amended while declining to elaborate on what amendments he would propose.

The minoritys job is to hold the governing body accountable, and their job is to govern, Knopp said. I believe were doing our job.

Wagner left open the option of using other tools, including sending issuing subpoenas to compel senators to appear or asking Kotek to send Oregon State Police to bring them back to the floor, but he said hes not yet ready to do that.

Kotek on Wednesday said she would be willing to call lawmakers into a special session to pass a budget if the walkout persists. And she said she hadnt completely ruled out sending state troopers out to round up errant senators if needed.

Im not saying I wouldnt, she said. Im treating people with respect. Get back to work. I dont need to chase you down. Get back to work.

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One-third of Oregon Senate now ineligible for another term as Republican walkout continues Oregon Capital Chronicle - Oregon Capital Chronicle

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp of Bend acknowledged Thursday that he is now among 10 GOP senators who have accrued 10 or more unexcused absences due to the ongoing boycott, but again blasted Democratic Senate president Rob Wagner for what he called "arbitrary, capricious, and retaliatory actions."

Here's his statement, in full:

Senate Republicans are engaged in a peaceful, constitutional protest of the unlawful, uncompromising, and unconstitutional agenda the untrustworthy and deeply partisan Senate President has brought forward.

"We commit to Oregonians and our Democrat colleagues that we will return before the constitutional sine die to suspend readings and rules on lawful, substantially bipartisan budgets and bills.

"While Democrats are laser focused on the issues that do nothing but divide, we are focused on the real issues Oregonians care most about homelessness, affordable housing, public safety, cost of living, job creation, and fully-funded education. We are committed to getting the Peoples work done, not facilitating an extreme, unlawful, unconstitutional agenda.

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Knopp now among 10 Oregon Republican senators who face not being able to seek reelection - KTVZ

Bipartisan talks between top White House and Republican congressional officials over a deal to raise the debt limit ended without a breakthrough on Friday, capping a day of whiplash as negotiators seeking to avoid the first default in the nations history repeatedly started and ended discussions amid growing G.O.P. frustration.

Negotiations came to a halt on Friday morning after Republicans vented anger about discussions on spending caps, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy declared a pause to the talks. Just hours later, he announced Republicans return to the negotiating table, but the discussions ended after an hour on Friday night, and it was unclear when negotiators planned to meet again.

The series of abrupt turns reflected the unwieldy state of negotiations over a bipartisan deal to avert a debt default that could occur as soon as June 1, coupled with a mounting sense of urgency to find a resolution as Congress runs out of time to avoid the economic calamity that could follow.

By the end of the night, Mr. McCarthys top advisers were casting doubt on whether they could achieve a deal by the end of the weekend, a timeline the speaker had said on Thursday he saw a path to achieving.

Several outstanding issues remain in the negotiations, lawmakers said, but Republicans appeared particularly discouraged by what they said was White House officials refusal to budge on how strictly to cap federal spending.

Its very frustrating if they want to come into the room and think were going to spend more money next year than we did this year, Mr. McCarthy, a California Republican, said on Fox Business on Friday evening, as he announced that his deputies would return to the negotiating table. Thats not right, and thats not going to happen.

The bill that House Republicans passed last month would raise the nations borrowing limit into next year in exchange for freezing spending at last years levels for a decade which would lead to cuts of an average of 18 percent.

Weve got to get movement by the White House, and we dont have any movement, Mr. McCarthy said earlier on Friday, as he announced the initial pause in negotiations. He added: We cant be spending more money; we have to spend less than we spent the year before.

Mr. Biden was checking in regularly with negotiators from Hiroshima, Japan, where he was attending the annual meeting of the Group of 7 major industrial powers, but aides traveling with him sounded less optimistic about a deal in the coming days than they had a day earlier.

Theres no question we have serious differences, and this is going to continue to be a difficult conversation, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters in Japan. Thats not lost on us. But the presidents team is going to continue to work hard toward a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and the Senate.

In a nod to growing complaints on the left, Ms. Jean-Pierre emphasized the need for both Republican and Democratic votes. And when pressed by reporters on the more measured tone, she insisted that the optimism continues to be there, while adding several times that a deal would depend on whether Mr. McCarthy will negotiate in good faith and that everyone should recognize that you dont get everything that you want.

Both Democratic and Republican leaders were facing pressure from their bases not to compromise.

Former President Donald J. Trump weighed in on Friday on his social media site, declaring that Republicans should not make a deal on the debt ceiling unless they got everything they wanted.

DO NOT FOLD!!! he wrote.

In a letter, liberal Democratic lawmakers renewed their calls for Mr. Biden to refuse to reward Republicans reckless refusal to raise the debt ceiling without preconditions, urging him instead to invoke the 14th Amendment to continue issuing new debt to pay bondholders, Social Security recipients, government employees and others.

Negotiators were at odds over a handful of issues, including the extent to which a possible deal would include tougher work requirements for social safety net programs a proposal that has drawn a backlash from progressive Democrats and the length of any debt limit extension.

Conservatives in the House G.O.P. conference had grown increasingly concerned in recent days that Mr. McCarthy would agree to a deal freezing spending at current levels, rather than at last years levels, and would not lock in the kind of spending cuts for which they have long agitated.

Time is running out for lawmakers to strike a deal, translate it into legislation and pass it through Congress for Mr. Bidens signature. Mr. McCarthy has promised his conference that he will give lawmakers 72 hours to read the bill before they vote on it, abiding by a rule his conference adopted at the beginning of the year.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting from Washington, and Peter Baker from Hiroshima, Japan.

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Whiplash Day of Debt Limit Talks Ends Without a Breakthrough - The New York Times