Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) revealed on the internet on Friday that he is leaving the Republican Party and will instead run as an independent in his New York House race this autumn.
“I am officially stopping my petitioning in #NY01 to get on the ballot as a Republican and will instead register to run as an independent…” Santos shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I will bring my Ultra MAGA/Trump supporting principles to the ballot in November as an Independent.”
Santos, who is facing multiple federal fraud charges, was removed from the House in a historic vote in December, just weeks after the House Ethics Committee released a damning report that said there is “substantial evidence” he committed serious crimes.
The former lawmaker has remained active online since leaving Congress and made a surprise appearance at President Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this month.
During the address, Santos declared he would run again, challenging Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.).
In his recent post, Santos referred to the “embarrassing showing” in the House after the lower chamber passed a spending bill to prevent a government shutdown. Shortly after the vote, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) submitted a motion to remove Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Santos stated he “reflected” and has decided that he “can no longer be part of the Republican Party.” He argued that the GOP “continues to lie and swindle” its voters and he can no longer affiliate “with a party that stands for nothing and falls for everything.”
In his post, Santos tagged LaLota and former CNN anchor John Avlon, who entered the race as a Democrat. He said he would “see you boys in November!”
