Rep. George Santos
Rep. George Santos (Photo: US Gov.)

Representatives voted last night on whether to expel scandal-hit lawmaker George Santos from Congress. This was the second time this year that a motion to expel him was introduced. On this occasion, it was fellow Republicans who introduced it.

Despite this, Santos avoided expulsion on a vote of 179-213. The motion needed a two-thirds majority to succeed. Nineteen reps voted ‘present’ but did not cast a yay or nay vote.

Thirty-one Democrats voted not to expel Santos. Either they believe he should stay until proven guilty of a crime, or they think his presence in Congress continues to embarrass the Republican Party — and for that reason alone it’s worth keeping him.

Santos was elected in November 2022. Within weeks, it emerged he’d fabricated chunks of his resume. Questions were then asked about his campaign finances. He now faces 23 federal charges relating to wire fraud, money laundering, and misleading Congress. He denies all charges.

After he escaped expulsion, he tweeted a meme. It showed him with a cartoon crown photoshopped over his head, against the backdrop of the Congress floor. The caption read: “If you come for me, you best not miss.”

Santos soon deleted it and reposted his message without the image.

“Tonight was a victory for due process not me. This was never about me, and I’ll never let it become about me.

“We all have rights under this great Constitutional Republic and I’ll fight for our right to uphold them till my last dying breath.”

Many responded to ask why he’d changed his message and deleted the meme.

House Ethics Committee due to report on Santos soon

Democrats introduced the first motion to expel Santos in May, but the GOP-led House instead voted to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee to investigate.

Twenty-four Republicans voted to expel Santos yesterday. The efforts were led by fellow New York GOP lawmaker Rep. Anthony D’Esposito. Afterward, he suggested part of the reason the effort failed was because the House Ethics Committee announced on Tuesday that it would release its findings into Santos in two weeks.

“There’s no question that the memo that they put out definitely gave some of our colleagues the ability to say let’s hold off for the two weeks and see where the report leads up, which is fine,” D’Esposito told reporters following the vote.

Fighting “tooth and nail” to clear his name

Before the vote, Santos addressed Congress, telling the newly-elected speaker that he was “fighting tooth and nail” to clear his name.

Surprisingly, at one stage, Santos yielded to a Democrat, Rep. Dan Goldman, who wanted to see him expelled.

Goldman went on to blast Republicans for not supporting the motion to expel Santos earlier in the year, only to introduce their own resolution now.

Santos later told reporters, “I knew he was gonna go up there and support it. But he asked me for the time and I gave it to him. And I would have given it to anybody,” he added. “You know what? I’m not scared of the process. I will face the music; I will face the process. I’ve been doing it for 10 months. … I don’t run away from this process.”

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