Last year, Republicans joined with the Democrats in voting to expel George Santos from the House of Representatives, knowing full well it would cost them a seat in the narrowly divided chamber. While no one is going to miss George Santos, a new precedent was set: a member of Congress accused of federal crimes could be expelled without due process.
A double standard quickly became apparent. While George Santos wasn’t afforded the presumption of innocence and the right to due process, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer refused to consider expelling Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) because "He has a right to due process and a fair trial."
Make no mistake about it: the accusations against Sen. Menendez are far more serious than the accusations against George Santos. Menendez has been indicted on federal bribery charges involving the governments of Egypt and Qatar, and he now faces new conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges.
Even Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) could see the double standard after Santos was expelled last year. "Well, it's like, I'm not surprised. But, but to me, I think the more important picture is that we have a colleague in the Senate that actually did much more sinister … and serious kinds of things,” he told the hosts of The View. "Senator Menendez, he needs to go. And if you are going to expel Santos, how can you allow to somebody like Menendez to remain in the Senate?"
Fetterman continued, "And you know, Santos's kind of lies were almost, you know, funny. Like, you know, he landed on the moon and that kind of stuff. Whereas, whereas, you know, I think, you know, Menendez, I think, is really a senator for Egypt, you know, not New Jersey. So I really think he needs to go. And especially, it's kind of strange that if Santos is not allowed to remain in the House — you know, someone like that …"
How come Fetterman gets it, but Schumer does not?
On Wednesday, in light of the new charges against Menendez, Schumer again refused to call on Menendez to resign.
"Senator Menendez is facing another round of indictments. Is it time for him to resign,” a reporter asked, "and if it's not time yet, what would it take?”
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“Look, the bottom line is, I’ve said ‘the Senate has certain standards that we must live up to,’” Sen. Schumer began. “I am very disappointed that Sen. Menendez has not lived up to those standards.”
Another reporter chimed in: "Why are you okay with him serving in your caucus, sitting on committees, attending classified briefings, when he's been charged with bribery, conspiracy, obstruction of justice…"
"As I've said, [the] Senate has standards; we should all be living up to those standards. I'm deeply disappointed that Senator Menendez has not."
Q: Should Sen. Menendez resign?
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 6, 2024
SCHUMER: "I'm very disappointed"
Q: "Why are you OK with him serving in your caucus, sitting on committees, attending classified briefings when he's been charged with bribery, conspiracy, and obstruction..."
SCHUMER: "I'm deeply disappointed" pic.twitter.com/RfiVd6rgvj
If Republicans could expel one of their own over lesser crimes, why can’t Democrats expel one of their own for far more serious ones?
Let’s face it: the only standard Schumer is trying to live up to is helping his party. The reason he isn’t asking Menendez to resign or attempting to expel him is that doing so would mean that, at least for a little while, the Senate would be split 50-50 again, leaving zero wiggle room for defections on votes on legislation or confirmations, or absenteeism. It would also likely mean that Kamala Harris would have to break a lot of tie votes again in an election year.
This is exactly why Republicans shouldn’t have done the Democrats' bidding by expelling Santos. Democrats don’t hold their own accountable the way Republicans do. Democrats will always put their own power ahead of everything else. They have no standards, no morals, and no code of conduct that takes precedence over their political ambitions.
