George Santos expelled from House
- The House voted to expel Rep. George Santos
- Santos has been accused of campaign finance and ethics violations
- He has denied any wrongdoing
(NewsNation) — Rep. George Santos was expelled from Congress on Friday, the sixth member ever to face expulsion.
The House voted on a resolution to expel him after a litany of ethics complaints and indictments accusing him of lying about his resume and improperly using his campaign funds. Santos was expelled with 311 members voting to remove him from the body and 114 allowing him to stay.
With Satntos’ removal, the number of House members stands at 434. His removal will trigger a special election in New York to decide on who will replace him.
Santos has denied any wrongdoing. Thursday, he said he’d try to get Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., expelled.
“I will not stand by quietly,” Santos declared on the House floor Thursday as lawmakers debated his removal. “The people of the Third District of New York sent me here. If they want me out, you’re going to have to go silence those people and go take the hard vote.”
Expulsion requires a supermajority of two-thirds of the House, and Santos became the sixth member to ever be expelled.
The Long Island representative has made few friends in Congress, and does not appear to have support among Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the chamber. Speaker Mike Johnson told his members to “vote their conscience.”
Santos has said he won’t run for re-election in 2024.