Embattled New York Rep. George Santos was expelled from the House on Friday in a historic vote following a House Ethics Committee investigation into alleged fraud perpetrated by his campaign after months of scandals around the freshman Republican.
Following the release of the ethics report last month, Santos, 35, said he would not seek reelection to the Long Island-area seat he won in 2022. The congressman, however, said he would not resign because if he did, the “bullies” would win.
“I will not stand by quietly,” Santos said on the House floor Thursday. “The people of the Third District of New York sent me here. If they want me out, they’re going to have to go silence those people and take the hard vote.”
There were 311 votes to remove Santos, with 114 voting against and two voting present. Santos grabbed his coat and left the floor before the vote had concluded. One hundred and five Republicans voted to boot Santos and 112 voted for him to remain. Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia and Nikema Williams of Georgia were the only two Democrats to vote against expelling Santos.
When asked for his reaction following the result, Santos said, “It’s over. What reaction?” Asked if he would use his privileges as a former congressman to visit the House floor in the future, he replied, “To hell with this place.”
There were reports Friday morning that Santos might survive, but in a letter to his colleagues, Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller claimed that Santos had defrauded both Miller and his mother by charging campaign contributions to their personal credit cards. Rep. David Joyce told CNN that Miller’s message resulted in some GOP members voting against Santos.
Santos survived one expulsion attempt last month, as an effort pushed forth by other New York Republicans fell short, with some legislators…
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