The House of Representatives conducted a vote on Dec. 1 that ended in a decision to remove Republican George Santos after the House Ethics Committee accused him of defrauding his campaign donors.
This vote succeeded a 56-page Ethics Committee report released on Nov. 16 detailing Santos’s creation of fictitious loans, fraudulent business deals and stealing money from his campaign funds for personal use. Santos has rejected numerous calls to resign, denying any wrongdoing and claiming the House members were “bullying” him. The House voted 311 to 114 – including 105 Republicans voting in favor of his expulsion.
Before the vote, Santos continued his resistance while criticizing other lawmakers and their support of Congress’s Dec. 1 vote.
“I will not stand quietly,” Santos said. “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.”
With 112 Republicans and two Democrats voting against removing Santos, they cautioned against the menacing precedent his removal sets.
“The voters elected him,” Republican representative Jim Jordan said. “You’ve got to be careful in taking a vote to kick someone out of who the voters sent in.”
On the contrary, a group of four New York Republicans who pushed for this vote went against the majority opinion of their party.
“The precedent that is set is that we hold members of Congress to a higher standard,” New York Representative Anthony D’Esposito said. “It shouldn’t have come to this. He should have held himself accountable. He should have resigned.”
Santos left mid-vote only answering a few questions on his way out.
“It’s over, the House spoke,” Santos said. “That’s their vote. They just set a new dangerous precedent for themselves. To hell with this place.”
Santos still faces 23 federal criminal counts – to which he pleaded not guilty. His trial begins Sept. 19, 2024.
His seat will be up for grabs in next year’s special election. The date has yet to be announced by New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s office.
For further details on Santos’s charges, visit this New York Times article.
