Rep. George Santos (R-New York) watches as the House of Representatives votes on the new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 18, 2023.
Mandel Gunn | AFP | Getty Images
The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected a bid to expel George Santos, a Republican congressman from New York who is embroiled in a dispute over falsehoods in his campaign and criminal charges.
A resolution to expel Santos from Congress, introduced by a group of New York Republicans, was rejected 179-213 by 19 members present..
In addition to 182 Republicans, 31 Democrats opposed the resolution, and 24 Republicans voted for it, along with 155 Democrats.
Passage required support from two-thirds of the chamber.
Santos, 35, has faced bipartisan calls for his resignation since before he took office in January. He has admitted to lying about his professional and educational background during his campaign, and his short tenure in Congress was marked by a series of scandals, including criminal charges.
Last week, he appeared in court for a second time to plead not guilty to numerous charges of federal fraud and theft. He vowed not to resign voluntarily.
Few of his House Republican colleagues have come to his defense, but some say he has no intention of kicking out a single member of the chamber clinging to an already razor-thin and deeply divided majority.
“We have no margin for error,” newly appointed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said in an interview on Fox News last week. “So George Santos deserves due process, right?”
Other Republicans pointed to Tuesday’s statement from the House Ethics Committee that the investigation into Santos is nearing completion and that it has until Nov. 17 to decide on its “next course of action in this matter.” He announced that he plans to make an announcement.
The group that introduced the expulsion resolution, led by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (RN.Y.), argued for Santos’ expulsion as a moral necessity.
“Plain and simple, this is a question of right and wrong,” the lawmakers wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter reported early Wednesday by NBC News and other outlets.
Several poll A majority of voters in Mr. Santos’ Long Island congressional district, including Republican voters, said they wanted him out of office even before the indictment.
Mr. Santos remains a candidate for re-election in 2024. Mr. Santos has repeatedly rejected calls for his resignation. On the eve of his recent arraignment He appeared in federal court on new criminal fraud charges.
Santos faces 23 felonies, including wire fraud, credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft and falsifying records.
His criminal trial is scheduled for mid-September 2024, less than two months until Election Day.
