US Representative George Santos walks to a series of votes including a vote to expel him from the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Credit: Reuters Photo
George Santos, the New York Republican whose tapestry of lies and schemes made him a figure of national ridicule and the subject of a 23-count federal indictment, was expelled from the House on Friday after a convincing bipartisan vote by his peers.
Santos is the first person to be expelled from the House without first being convicted of a federal crime or supporting the Confederacy.
Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana announced the tally to a hushed House chamber: The measure, which required a two-thirds majority, passed with 311 lawmakers in favour of expulsion, including 105 Republicans, and 114 against. Two members voted present.
“The new whole number of the House is 434,” a downcast Johnson announced, confirming that his already paper-thin margin of Republican control had shrunk to three votes.
Santos walked out of the chamber before the vote was finished. Descending the House steps to a waiting car, Santos told reporters he was ready to turn the page on Congress.
“Why would I want to stay here?” he said. “To hell with this place.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York will have 10 days to announce the date of a special election to fill the vacancy left by Santos’ departure. The election must take place between 70 and 80 days after she sets the date. Local party leaders generally pick their nominees in special elections.
The Republican Party chair in Nassau County has been vetting possible candidates for months, while Democratic leaders have privately indicated that they would most likely put forward Tom Suozzi, who held the seat before Santos but relinquished it to run for governor.
Santos must still contend with the federal indictment in which prosecutors have accused him of multiple criminal schemes. In May, prosecutors charged him with wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, stealing public funds and lying on federal disclosure forms.
In October, prosecutors added more charges in a superseding indictment, accusing Santos of falsifying a $500,000 campaign loan, stealing the identities of donors to his campaign and using their credit card information to transfer money to his personal bank account.
Santos, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, is due back in court on December 12 and is scheduled to go to trial in September.