The House voted Friday to expel Representative George Santos of New York from office, making him only the sixth ever member of the House to be expelled. The measure, which required a two-thirds supermajority, passed 311-114, with 105 Republicans voting in support of expulsion.
Friday’s expulsion vote
| Answer | Democrats | Republicans | Total | Bar chart of total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 206 | 105 | 311 | ||
| 2 | 112 | 114 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 |
Source: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
Note: The bill needed the support of two-thirds of those voting to pass. See a breakdown of individual member votes below.
Mr. Santos had survived two previous expulsion efforts. Friday’s vote to expel Mr. Santos came after a report by the House Ethics Committee that found substantial evidence that Mr. Santos had broken federal criminal laws.
The report detailed the many ways Mr. Santos regularly used campaign funds for personal expenses, including trips to casinos, designer fashion, cosmetic treatments and purchases on OnlyFans, a platform best known for allowing creators to sell explicit content. After the release of the report, Mr. Santos said he would not seek re-election in 2024.
Mr. Santos is also facing 23 felony counts. Federal prosecutors allege that Mr. Santos solicited donations for a fake political fund, which he in turn used to buy designer clothes and pay off debt. He is also accused of stealing a donor’s credit card number to transfer $11,000 to his own bank account, among other offenses.
Expulsion from Congress is a rare occurrence. Before Mr. Santos, only five members of the House and 14 members of the Senate have ever been expelled. The bulk of these expulsions took place during the Civil War era, when many were expelled for supporting the Confederacy. The two most recent expulsions from the House, Michael J. Myers in 1980 and James Traficant in 2002, were related to bribery and corruption scandals.
Mr. Santos’s departure from Congress will trigger a special election for his Long Island congressional district. Many are already vying to represent the district, which President Biden carried in 2020.