The House Democrat announced plans today to vote on a resolution to expel scandal-ridden Rep. George Santos from Congress, less than a week after the first-term Republican congressman pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.

One offer permission represented by California Representative Robert Garcia is symbolic; The measure is expected to fail but force Republicans in the House of Representatives to make their New York counterpart official.

“George Santos is a fraud and a liar and the House of Representatives should expel him,” Garcia said in a statement. “Republicans now have a chance to demonstrate to Americans that a convicted felon should not serve in the House of Representatives.”

The motion is a favored resolution that, when proposed by an ordinary member of the House of Representatives, triggers a procedural vote within the next two days, though Republicans can still block the measure. Any proposal for exclusion requires a two-thirds vote. But any attempt by the Republican Party to block or introduce the resolution would still mean that the House of Representatives would vote.

Santos, whose office did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for his reaction to the resolution, had previously pleaded not guilty and insisted he would remain in Congress.

Santos, who was urged by members of his own party to resign, pleaded not guilty to federal fraud charges last week. Hey faces 13 counts of a criminal offenseincluding wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.

“This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and blatant misrepresentation,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.

“Together, the allegations in the indictment accuse Santos of relying on repeated dishonesty and deceit to climb the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” he added. “He used political contributions to line his pockets, illegally filed for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives.”

Santos was released on $500,000 bail.

A day after Santos pleaded not guilty, he remotely appeared in criminal court in a separate case in Brazil. New York Times first reported that the congressman signed an agreement with Brazilian prosecutors that he confess to stealing receipts for the purchase of clothes and other goods in 2008 and pay nearly $5,000 in fines.

In January, Santos voluntarily resigned from his committee amid protests over his fabricated background and persistent questions regarding his personal finances and campaign funding.

At the time, Santos told his GOP colleagues in a closed-door conference that Speaker McCarthy did not force him to do so, but felt that being on committees distracted his colleagues.

In March, the House Ethics Committee announced it was launching a formal investigation to find out if Santos “engaged in illegal activities” during his 2022 campaign. Democrats are pushing for a vote before the ethics commission completes its investigation. Generally, recommendations for exclusion come from the House Ethics Committee Investigation Team and are for serious misconduct. The last MP to be expelled from the House was Rep. Jim Trafficant, D-Ohio, in 2002, and his ouster came after he was convicted of several crimes and the ethics committee made a formal recommendation to do so.

Last week, McCarthy said he would not support Santos’ bid for re-election and said he would call for him to step down pending the outcome of an ongoing ethics investigation.

On Tuesday, McCarthy said he wants the Ethics Committee to “get to it quickly.”

“Everyone in America can have due process,” McCarthy told reporters after meeting at the White House with President Biden and other top congressional leaders on the issue of debt limitation. “I don’t want to wait for the courts to take action. I would like the House of Representatives to take action and process here.”