The House of Representatives voted to expel Representative George Santos from Congress Friday morning.
More than 100 Republicans joined nearly every Democrat to oust the embattled New York Republican following November's House Ethics Committee report that said investigators found "substantial" proof that Santos broke federal criminal laws.
According to the committee's 10-month-long inquiry, evidence shows that Santos used his campaign funds for personal use, engaged in "fraudulent conduct" and filed "false or incomplete reports" to the Federal Election Commission while running for office in 2022.
Santos maintains his innocence and has pleaded not guilty to charges related to a federal criminal investigation. Among the accusations in the 23-count indictment were allegations that he stole from his donors and falsified campaign filings.
The Ethics Committee report brought new efforts to expel Santos, who survived previous expulsion votes. Both Republican and Democratic members of Congress argued that he was entitled to due process, either through the committee's findings or through a criminal trial.
Ahead of the House's vote, Santos maintained a defiant tone as lawmakers debated on Thursday whether he should be expelled.
"I will not stand by quietly. The people of the 3rd District of New York sent me here. If they want me out, you're going to have to go silence those people and go take the hard vote," he said during a speech.
Newsweek reached out to Santos' office and political team via email for comment after Friday's vote.
In total, 105 Republicans voted to expel Santos. Two Democrats voted against expulsion, while two voted "present."
Here is a full list of the 105 Republicans who voted to expel Santos:
- Robert Aderholt, Alabama
- Rick Allen, Georgia
- Mark Amodei, Nevada
- Kelly Armstrong, North Dakota
- Don Bacon, Nebraska
- Troy Balderson, Ohio
- Andy Barr, Kentucky
- Cliff Bentz, Oregon
- Jack Bergman, Michigan
- Stephanie Bice, Oklahoma
- Ken Buck, Colorado
- Larry Bucshon, Indiana
- Michael Burgess, Texas
- Ken Calvery, California
- Mike Carey, Ohio
- Buddy Carter, Georgia
- Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon
- Juan Ciscomani, Arizona
- Tom Cole, Oklahoma
- James Comer, Kentucky
- Dan Crenshaw, Texas
- John Curtis, Utah
- Anthony D'Esposito, New York
- Monica De La Cruz, Texas
- Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida
- John Duarte, California
- Neal Dunn, Florida
- Chuck Edwards, North Carolina
- Jake Ellzey, Texas
- Ron Estes, Kansas
- Randy Feenstra, Iowa
- Drew Ferguson, Georgia
- Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania
- Mike Flood, Nebraska
- Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
- Scott Franklin, Florida
- Andrew Garbarino, New York
- Mike Garcia, California
- Carlos Gimenez, Florida
- Tony Gonzalez, Texas
- Kay Granger, Texas
- Garet Graves, Louisiana
- Mark Green, Tennessee
- Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin
- Michael Guest, Texas
- Brett Guthrie, Kentucky
- Ashley Hinson, Iowa
- Erin Houchin, Indiana
- Richard Hudson, North Carolina
- John James, Michigan
- Dusty Johnson, South Dakota
- David Joyce, Ohio
- John Joyce, Pennsylvania
- Thomas Kean, New Jersey
- Jen Kiggans, Virginia
- Kevin Kiley, California
- Young Kim, California
- Darin LaHood, Illinois
- Nick LaLota, New York
- Nick Langworthy, New York
- Bob Latta, Ohio
- Jake LaTurner, Kansas
- Mike Lawler, New York
- Julia Letlow, Louisiana
- Frank Lucas, Oklahoma
- Nicole Malliotakis, New York
- Celeste Maloy, Utah
- Tracey Mann, Kansas
- Lisa McClain, Michigan
- Dan Meuser, Pennsylvania
- Max Miller, Ohio
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
- Marcus Molinaro, New York
- Blake Moore, Utah
- Nathaniel Moran, Texas
- Greg Murphy, North Carolina
- Dan Newhouse, Washington
- Zack Nunn, Iowa
- Jay Obernolte, California
- Burgess Owens, Utah
- Greg Pence, Indiana
- August Pfluger, Texas
- Hal Rogers, Kentucky
- John Rose, Tennessee
- David Rouzer, North Carolina
- John Rutherford, Florida
- David Schweikert, Arizona
- Austin Scott, Georgia
- Mike Simpson, Idaho
- Chris Smith, New Jersey
- Lloyd Smucker, Pennsylvania
- Pete Stauber, Minnesota
- Michelle Steel, California
- Bryan Steil, Wisconsin
- Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania
- David Valadao, California
- Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey
- Ann Wagner, Missouri
- Dan Webster, Florida
- Brad Wenstrup, Ohio
- Bruce Westerman, Arkansas
- Brandon Williams, New York
- Steve Womack, Arkansas
- Rudy Yakym, Indiana
- Ryan Zinke, Montana
Santos was elected to Congress in November 2022 in an upset victory in a competitive Long Island congressional district that backed President Joe Biden by 9 percentage points in 2020.
Just weeks after his surprise win, The New York Times ran a story accusing him of lying about large parts of his biography, including his professional experience and education. Santos has admitted to "embellishing" personal details during his campaign.
After the House Ethics Committee report was released last month, Santos said he would not run for reelection next fall. His expulsion would mean a special election would be held to replace him.
Some Republicans argued Santos should not face potential expulsion unless he is eventually convicted of a crime.
"Since the beginning of this Congress, there's only two ways you get expelled," said Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, on Thursday. "You get convicted of a crime or you participated in the Civil War. Neither apply to George Santos, and so I rise not to defend George Santos, whoever he is, but to defend the very precedent that my colleagues are willing to shatter."
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Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more