Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election in the wake of a House ethics report. 

“If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the ‘Ethics committee’, they would have not released this biased report. The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise),” Santos wrote on X. “It is a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk. Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves. We the People desperately need an Article V Constitutional Convention.”

Santos in DC

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the Financial Services bill was pulled from the floor on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time,” he wrote. “Public service life was never a goal or a dream, but I stepped up to the occasion when I felt my country needed it most. I will 100% continue to maintain my commitment to my conservative values in my remaining time in Congress.”

Santos also said, “We are quickly approaching $34 trillion dollars in debt, the government is continuously on the verge of a shutdown, our southern border is wide open, our current President is the head of an influence peddling crime family, and all this Congress wants to do is attack their political enemies with tit for tat unconstitutional censures, impeachments, expulsions and ethics investigations. THE TIME IS NOW FOR THE STATES TO RISE UP AND COMMENCE AN ARTICLE V CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION!”

 “I’ve come to expect vitriol like this from political opposition but not from the hallowed halls of public service,” he wrote. “I will remain steadfast in fighting for my rights and for defending my name in the face of adversity. I am humbled yet again and reminded that I am human and I have flaws, but I will not stand by as I am stoned by those who have flaws themselves.”

This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.