Santos' Arrest Shrinks GOP's Narrow House Majority Further

Congressman George Santos (R-NY) has been arrested and charged with a 13-count indictment including accusations of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and false statement. Santos' arrest leaves the GOP with 221 representatives in the House, just above the 218 required for a majority. Given the tight margins of votes on crucial issues such as the debt ceiling (Santos eventually voted in favour of Speaker McCarthy's debt ceiling legislation following an about-turn) the future of the case could have a major political and market impact.

• Press release from the Eastern District of New York US Attorney's office: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/congressman-g...
• Justice Dep't: "Santos was arrested this morning and will be arraigned this afternoon."
• Justice Dep't: “Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself. He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits..."
• District Attorney of Nassau County Anne Donnelly: "...George Santos allegedly applied for and received unemployment benefits while he was employed and running for Congress... the defendant’s alleged behavior continued during his second run for Congress when he pocketed campaign contributions and used that money to pay down personal debts and buy designer clothing."