Several Republican House members, many of whom are still angry at Gaetz for his antics that impeded McCarthy and the majority of the conference from passing legislation, have begun to discuss Gaetz’s ongoing investigation by the House Ethics Committee in the wake of the expulsion of embattled former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. …

One House Republican, who spoke to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about conversations between their colleagues, said GOP members were well aware of the future consequences of expelling Santos.

“There were a number of people who voted to expel Santos with the express intent of thinking through the precedent there on what happens next,” the member said. “There was a lot of forethought about the precedent and what would happen when a report on Gaetz comes out.”

(via Off the Press)

[The expulsion of Santos is defensible, as his alleged frauds related directly to his election to Congress in the first place. That’s not true of Gaetz, however, and House Republicans don’t have the luxury of paring their fragile majority any further. With Santos expelled and Kevin McCarthy soon to resign, they’re only a breath or two away from making Hakeem Jeffries the new Speaker. And after all but three House Democrats refused to even censure Jamaal Bowman for his fire-alarm obstruction attempt, it’s pointless anyway. — Ed]