Rep. George Santos expelled from Congress in historic vote

Rep. George Santos. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The House on Friday voted to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) over his many fabrications on the 2022 campaign trail and his two federal indictments.

Why it matters: The vote makes Santos just the sixth lawmaker – and first Republican – to be expelled from the House in U.S. history.

• The votes comes after the House Ethics Committee released a report accusing Santos of a "complex web of unlawful activity involving [his] campaign, personal, and business finances."

Driving the news: The resolution, led by House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest, passed 311-114.

• The measure required a 2/3 majority to pass.
• The result came even after most of House Republican leadership turned against expelling Santos, prompting doubts about whether enough Republicans would vote for expulsion.

The backdrop: A New York Times report last December revealed that Santos had lied about key elements of his resume as a candidate, including claims that he graduated from Baruch College and New York University, and worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

• Further media reports have revealed shady campaign and personal finances, past debts and legal troubles, and a variety of fraudulent schemes and fictional claims.
• Santos was indicted in May on 13 counts, including charges of wire fraud and money laundering. A superseding indictment in October charged him with 10 more counts, including credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
• The last straw for many lawmakers was the Ethics Committee report, which detailed "substantial evidence" of "uncharged and unlawful conduct" including allegedly stealing from his 2022 campaign.

State of play: Members of both parties, including local GOP leaders in New York and some of Santos' House Republican colleagues from the state, called for his resignation shortly after he was sworn in earlier this year.

• House Democrats forced a vote on expelling Santos in May, but Republicans voted to kill the measure by referring to the Ethics Committee, arguing Santos deserved due process.

• Santos' second indictment, and the explosive evidence it contained, spurred a group of New York Republicans to revive the push to expel him, but it failed after most Republicans and dozens of Democrats voted against it, again advocating for the Ethics probe to play out.
• The Ethics Committee report prompted many lawmakers who opposed previous expulsion efforts to throw their support behind removing Santos, saying he had now received his due process.

What's next: Santos' seat will now be filled by special election, in which each nominee will be chosen by their respective local party committees.

• A large field of candidates in both parties had already formed to unseat Santos, including former Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who held the seat until 2021.