Santos about to be saved by the math

With 222 votes, a still-undecided race for speaker, and some of his most headache-inducing members integral to his majority, McCarthy is likely to have little space to worry about political hygiene. In fact, Santos resigning might be a worst-case scenario, leaving an empty seat for months and a special election Democrats might be favored to win. …

Santos noticeably reiterated his support for McCarthy’s speakership bid on Twitter just before the New York Times story came out, a reminder of his unusual potential importance as a freshman backbencher.

McCarthy knows the value of a well-timed push. He urged Jeff Fortenberry to resign this year after he was convicted of lying to the FBI and previously kicked Steve King off of his committees over the Iowa Congressman’s white nationalist rhetoric.

Disciplining members for embarrassing the caucus or breaking with leadership is “surely tricker now,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb. told Semafor.

[Unless Santos broke the law, he’s still the elected representative for his district. This is a matter for the House Ethics Committee, not McCarthy. — Ed]