Rep. George Santos of New York on Capitol Hill on October 24, 2023.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Members of the House voted to expel Rep. George Santos on Wednesday.
But the effort didn’t succeed — it takes a two-thirds majority vote to expel a member of the House.
Here are the Republicans who voted to expel their scandal-plagued colleague.
Rep. George Santos is staying in Congress, for now.
For the second time this year, the House voted on a resolution to expel the scandal-plagued New York Republican, who faces 23 felony counts from federal prosecutors and national outrage over the myriad fabrications he’s made about his background.
But while many House members — including a number of Republicans — voted for the resolution, it failed to garner the two-thirds majority necessary for the expulsion to take place. The vote was 179 to 213 with 19 voting “present.” More Democrats voted against expelling Santos (31) than Republicans voted to expel him (24).
It’s not that Republicans love George Santos. Plenty of them do not, and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made clear earlier this year that he did not believe Santos should run for re-election. He does not serve on any House committees, and just one Republican has co-sponsored a bill proposed by the New York congressman.
Furthermore, it was a group of New York Republicans, led by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, who forced this vote in the first place. Republicans in New York loathe Santos and fear that they could pay a political price next year if they don’t sideline him.
But Republicans writ large are weary of cutting down their already-slim margin in the chamber, particularly given the Democratic lean of Santos’ district and the probability that he would be replaced by a Democrat in the resulting special election.
“We have to allow due process to play itself out. That’s what our system of justice is for. He’s not convicted. He’s charged,” newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Fox News last week, pointing to the party’s slim margin.
And on Tuesday, the House Ethics Committee issued a rare statement saying that it would “announce its next course of action” in its ongoing investigation into Santos by November 17 — another factor that may have given Republicans cover to vote against expulsion.
The last time that the House expelled one of its own members was in 2002 when Democratic Rep. Jim Traficant of Ohio was expelled after being convicted on corruption charges.
Santos is not set to face trial until September 2024. Santos has denied the charges.
Here are the Republicans who voted to expel Santos:
Rep. Don Bacon of NebraskaRep. Mike Carey of OhioRep. James Comer of KentuckyRep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of OregonRep. Anthony D’Esposito of New YorkRep. Monica De La Cruz of TexasRep. Jake Ellzey of TexasRep. Brian Fitzpatrick in PennsylvaniaRep. Mike Garcia of CaliforniaRep. Tony Gonzales of TexasRep. John James of MichiganRep. Thomas Kean Jr. of New JerseyRep. Kevin Kiley of CaliforniaRep. Nick LaLota of New YorkRep. Nick Langworthy of New YorkRep. Mike Lawler of New YorkRep. Daniel Philip Meuser of PennsylvaniaRep. Max Miller of OhioRep. Marcus Molinaro of New YorkRep. Nathaniel Moran of TexasRep. David Schweikert of ArizonaRep. Lloyd Smucker of PennsylvaniaRep. Brandon Williams of New YorkRep. Steve Womack of Arkansas