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 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.
Santos, whose district includes parts of Nassau County and the New York City borough of Queens, weathered a Democratic-led expulsion 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 the vote, Santos reminded colleagues he has 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 colleagues’ voting for his expulsion at this point would set a precedent that is both hypocritical and demeans due process.
No members rose to speak on his behalf.
Yet expulsion — the most severe sanction that can be employed against a House member 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 House Committee on Ethics disclosed that it would reveal its “next course of action” by Nov. 17 regarding its inquiry into allegations of misconduct by Santos.
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.
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 being convicted of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion in 2002.
Representative Anthony D’Esposito and four other New York freshman Republicans had put forth the expulsion resolution.
In a letter to colleagues earlier Wednesday, they argued that Santos has already admitted to fraudulent conduct.
They also dismissed arguments by fellow Republicans that removing Santos would further threaten the GOP 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.”
