George Santos, a Republican lawmaker indicted on corruption charges, was voted out of the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday by his peers due to allegations of misusing campaign funds.
The House overrode the two-thirds majority needed to dismiss one of its own members by voting 311–114 to remove the contentious freshman legislator immediately. 105 Republicans voted in support of expulsion together with the vast majority of Democrats, whereas two Democrats cast absentee ballots and other two cast yes votes.
House Speaker Mike Johnson declared he would vote against the expulsion just prior to the vote, according to an aide.
A two-thirds supermajority is needed for expulsion votes in Congress, which are extremley uncommon. Only five legislators have ever been ousted in this manner.
The New York congressman, 35, had withstood earlier attempts to remove him from office, but the most recent attempt gained traction following the release in November of a long-awaited report by the House Ethics Committee, which found that Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”
Following the publication of the ethics report, Santos had earlier said that he would not run for reelection. Despite this, he has refused to step down and called the inquiry “a disgusting politicized smear.”
Separately, the New York Republican entered a not guilty plea to 23 federal counts, which included claims of misappropriating campaign cash, misrepresenting his personal finances on House transparency reports, and fraud pertaining to Covid-19 unemployment benefits.
Santos’ removal before a conviction, according to some conservatives, could set a risky precedent. They point out that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who was accused with bribery, is still serving in Congress.
Menendez had been charged with accepting illicit campaign donations and costly travel from a South Florida ophthalmologist over ten years ago, leading to his indictment. This year, Menendez and his spouse are being charged again with a new crime, namely accepting bribes totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for using their official position to enrich a group of New Jersey businesspeople and benefit the Egyptian government. Upon searching his home, detectives also discovered a number of gold bars hidden among enormous sums of cash.
Today’s decision was particularly welcome to Long Island legislators. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) said, “The expulsion of George Santos has removed a stain from this institution and will allow the residents of New York’s 3rd Congressional District the opportunity to select a representative who is not engrossed in scandals.”
Naysa Woomer, former Santos communications director, said, “Today was a great day for both the House of Representatives & integrity. This vote serves a reminder that Congress should be held to a higher standard for their conduct.”
With the Santos expulsion, there are 434 members in the House. Governor Hochul has 10 days to call for a special election to fill the seat. The election would take place 70-80 days later.
Democrat Tom Suozzi, who previously held the 3rd District seat, and is seeking a return to Congress, issued this statement: “This is a much-needed step in our journey to repair a broken system. We must move beyond our petty, partisan, performative finger-pointing and address the real problems Americans face. Let’s fix this!”
