The House of Representatives voted to expel Rep. George Santos, marking him as the sixth lawmaker ever to be ousted from the lower chamber. The vote, which required a two-thirds majority, ended with 311 in favor, including 105 Republicans alongside Democrats. This decision comes after Santos’s 11-month tenure filled with scandals.
Santos, a Republican from New York, faces a federal indictment on 23 counts, including wire fraud and identity theft. His expulsion highlights internal tensions within the Republican party and poses immediate challenges for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a narrowly held majority. Despite the controversy, 112 Republicans voted against the expulsion, citing concerns over setting a precedent for politically motivated removals without a criminal conviction.
The push to expel Santos began after revelations of his fabricated biography and escalated with his criminal indictments and a damning report from the House Ethics Committee. Santos remained defiant, claiming innocence and attacking the Ethics Committee. However, as the vote approached, he seemed resigned to his fate.
Santos’s ouster opens a mid-session opportunity for Democrats in New York’s 3rd Congressional District and raises questions about new precedents for expulsion. While Santos has not been convicted, lawmakers pushing for his removal argued that the Ethics Committee’s findings justified setting a new standard for Congress members.
Santos’s legal challenges continue, with a trial set for September 2024. He faces allegations of misleading donors and unauthorized credit card charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Reflecting on his tenure, Santos expressed no regrets about his work in Congress but lamented his associations during his political campaign.
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