The House handily voted down a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos on Wednesday, two weeks after the release of an Ethics Commission investigation in two weeks.
The final vote was 213 against Santos’ expulsion, 179 in favor and 19 voting present.
Twenty-four Republicans voted to oust Santos. Thirty-one Democrats, including Jamie Raskin, the Democratic Party’s top representative, crossed over and voted with the Republican Party not to expel the Republican from New York.
Four Republicans and fifteen Democrats attended to vote on the measure.
To impeach Santos, two-thirds of the House of Representatives would have had to vote to expel the congressman.
The House of Representatives Ethics Committee said Tuesday that it plans to announce the “next course of action” in its investigation into Santos on or before Nov. 17. Investigators contacted 40 witnesses, reviewed more than 170,000 pages of documents and approved 37 subpoenas.
The House handily voted down a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos on Wednesday, two weeks after the publication of an Ethics Commission investigation in two weeks
The final vote was 213 against Santos’ expulsion, 179 in favor and 19 voting present. Some Democrats crossed over and voted with the Republican Party not to expel the Republican from New York
The measure was proposed by his own party, New York Republicans, who have long insisted that the Long Island liar is unfit for office.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., introduced the privileged resolution along with Reps. Nick Lalota, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams.
Santos, who defended himself during the debate on the resolution in the House of Representatives, argued that Congress should consider him innocent until proven guilty.
The 35-year-old Republican from New York called his expulsion “unconscionable and reckless to the Republican system of government and the integrity of this body.”
“You cannot say they are pro-Constitution and at the same time act as judge, jury and executioner,” he added.
With only a four-vote majority and a free conference, Santos’ vote remains crucial to the Republican agenda. Speaker Mike Johnson said last week that he does not support removing Santos without conviction.
“We have no room for error,” Johnson told Fox News in an interview last week. “And so George Santos has a fair trial, right?”
Not only is Santos not resigning, but he currently says he will run for re-election next year. He faces 23 crimes, including bank fraud, credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft and falsifying records.
Santos recently pleaded not guilty to a slew of theft and fraud charges.
One case involves allegations that he embezzled cash from his company and conspired with his former treasurer to raise funds by falsifying donations.
Santos, who embellished large parts of his resume during his run for Congress, has denied all allegations.
He had already pleaded not guilty to the earlier batch of charges accusing him of lying to Congress about his wealth, applying for and receiving unemployment benefits even though he had a job, and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing .
Santos has been released on bail pending his trial.
He has denied any serious wrongdoing and blamed irregularities in his government filings on his former campaign treasurer, whom he claims committed “rogue actions.”
However, the former treasurer, who pleaded guilty to fraud, claims she helped Santos deceive Republican party officials into supporting his 2022 run through fake Federal Election Commission documents.
Those filings made him appear richer than he actually was by listing an imaginary loan of $500,000, she claims.
During his successful run for office in 2022, Santos was strengthened by an uplifting life story that later turned out to be full of fabrications.
Among other things, he never worked for the major Wall Street investment firms where he claimed to have worked.
He didn’t go to college where he claimed to have been a star volleyball player, and misled people about his Jewish ancestry.
