An attempt by fellow New York Republicans to expel Representative George Santos from the US House fell short on Wednesday night.
The vote to remove the freshman congressman, who has been indicted on fraud charges and accused of misconduct in the House was 179-213, with 19 voting present. Expulsion required the assent of two-thirds of the entire 433 members of the House.
Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans had argued that an expulsion should be contingent on a criminal conviction or some official finding of ethical misconduct. Johnson, who became speaker just a week ago, had also pointed out that the departure of Santos would diminish his already narrow majority.
It was the second time Santos, whose district includes parts of Nassau County and the New York City borough of Queens, has survived an expulsion vote. He weathered a Democratic-led effort that was tabled in May after then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy convinced Republicans to refer the matter then to the Ethics Committee.
In an impassioned speech on the House floor before Wednesday’s vote, Santos reminded colleagues he had not been convicted of anything and proclaimed that “I’m fighting tooth and nail to clear my name in front of the entire world, Mr. Speaker. It hasn’t been easy. But I’m fighting by God’s grace.”
“One can’t say they are pro-Constitution and at the same time act as judge, jury and executioner, Santos added. He said that a vote for his expulsion at this point would set a precedent that was both hypocritical and demeaned due process.
No members rose to speak on his behalf.
After the vote, Santos posted a message on X that, “Tonight was a victory for due process not me.” The same posting also carried an image of him wearing a crown, with the message: “If you come for me, you best not miss.”
Yet expulsion — the most severe penalty that a House member can face for abuse of office or a violation of criminal law — remains a real possibility for Santos, who was elected last November.
On Tuesday night the Ethics Committee said it would reveal its “next course of action” by Nov. 17 regarding its inquiry into allegations of misconduct.
Read More: House Ethics Panel Says It’ll Announce Santos Action by Nov. 17
The bipartisan panel has been looking into several allegations, including whether Santos engaged in unlawful activity during his 2022 congressional campaign.
Santos last week pleaded not guilty to the latest charges filed against him by federal prosecutors. He has denied wrongdoing since he was first indicted in May on campaign finance violations. He appeared in federal court on Long Island last Friday to answer to 10 additional charges that accused him of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and running up unauthorized expenses on his campaign contributors’ credit cards.
Even before he took office, much of the employment and education history that he had presented to voters was found to be false, leading to demands for his resignation, which he has rejected.
The House has expelled just five House members in its history, and only two since the Civil War, though some members facing discipline for misconduct have decided to resign before removal. The most recent expulsion occurred with the 2002 ouster of Ohio Democrat Jim Traficant, in a 420-1 vote after his conviction on bribery, racketeering and tax evasion charges.
Earlier: Santos Pleads Not Guilty to New Campaign Finance Charges
Representative Anthony D’Esposito of New York argued before the Santos vote that, “All you have to do is look at the lies and deceptions in the resolution and details of the indictments, multiple indictments, to see that Mr. Santos is a stain on this institution and not fit to serve his constituents in the House of Representatives.”
He and four other New York freshman Republicans who had put forth the expulsion resolution had written a letter to House colleagues earlier Wednesday arguing that Santos has already admitted to fraudulent conduct.
They also dismissed arguments by fellow Republicans that removing Santos would further threaten their House majority, though they acknowledged that a special election called by New York Governor Kathy Hochul to fill New York’s 3rd congressional district seat could take as long as 100 days.
“To that, we say this issue is not a political one, but a moral one,” wrote D’Esposito and GOP colleagues Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams. “Plain and simple – this is a question of right and wrong.”
In the end, 182 Republicans and 31 voted against expelling Santos. But LaLota said afterward that “scores” of Republicans have told them they will vote for his ouster when they finally have an Ethics Committee’s findings in hand.
(Updates headline and second paragraph to reflect second failed expulsion attempt. Santos response in eighth paragraph.)
