OAN’s James Meyers
9:12 AM – Friday, December 1, 2023
The House has voted to expel controversial Representative George Santos from Congress for his alleged finance crimes and campaign fabrications.
The House voted 311-114 in favor to oust Santos (R-N.Y.) on Friday. The vote required the support of two-thirds of the chamber to pass, with two members voting present.
Santos becomes the sixth House member in U.S. history to be removed from Congress, and the third since the Civil War.
Meanwhile, with the ousting of Santos, it now lowers the number of House Republicans to 221, compared to 213 Democrats. This will make it even more difficult to pass GOP-led legislation from this point forward.
New York law gives Governor Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) 10 days to announce a special election to fill the vacant seat, with the vote coming in February.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) opposed the vote and have been outspoken on ousting one of their colleagues.
Since taking the seat in 2022, Santos has since been charged with almost two dozen counts of crimes including identity theft, stealing unemployment, and submitting false campaign finance reports.
He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.
After the vote, Santos was asked by CNN if he would stay and use non-member privileges since he is not convicted. Santos responded: “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place.”
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts