Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Friday told Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman that he will vote against expelling George Santos, with Johnson evidently having decided that tossing a gay immigrant scumbag who ripped off the NRCC from his chamber before he’s convicted might set a bad “precedent” – as in voting yes could be incongruous with supporting a presidential candidate also credibly accused of federal felonies. And make it harder to pass legislation. There’s that too.
Meanwhile “moderate” New York Republican Marc Molinaro tells CNN’s Manu Raju that he and his anti-Santos colleagues are “closing in” on the 90-ish number of GOP yes votes (assuming all Dems vote yes too, probably a safe assumption) but that it will be “tight.” It’s not clear yet what Johnson’s own no vote will do in terms of swaying other Republicans, though it probably isn’t a good sign.