Congress rarely takes serious disciplinary action against its own members unless their ethical misdeeds lead to a federal crime. The last house member to be evicted was Ohio Democrat James A. Traficant Jr. in 2002 after being convicted of 10 felonies, including bribery, racketeering and tax evasion.
The House Ethics Committee, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers who have historically shied away from punishing their peers, has not commented on Mr. Santos’ case and remains in a state of uncertainty until a new Congress takes place on Jan. 3. launching an investigation once Mr. Santos becomes a member of Congress, the investigations have been known to take months or even years and rarely result in significant punishment.
Members are sometimes fined or forced to stand in the well of the House for a public censure.
That happened in the case of former Representative Charles B. Rangel, the powerful New York Democrat. The House voted in 2010 to appoint Mr. Rangel, the harshest sanction it can apply to eviction after an ethics committee investigation found he had violated congressional rules by failing to pay taxes on rental income from a villa in the Dominican Republic and abused his office to collect money for donations.
It’s unclear whether lying to voters before taking office would — in itself — be an offense within the jurisdiction of the ethics committee, but improper campaign financing and making false statements about disclosures are often grounds for investigation. The house rules also prohibit acting in a case that discredits the Chamber.
Some contentious members have chosen to resign, especially under pressure from the party leadership. Representative Katie Hill, a Democrat of California, resigned in 2019 when she faced a House ethics investigation into allegations that she had a sexual relationship with a member of her congressional staff, a violation of house rules.
Democrats quickly called on Santos to resign.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat of New York and the new minority leader in the House, criticized Mr. Santos last week.
“He appears to be a complete and utter con artist. His entire life story is made up, and he’s going to have to answer that question: Have you committed voter fraud? Mr. Jeffries told reporters in Washington.