The Republican Party has punished one of its own following a raft of federal charges having been filed against him.
By a vote of 311 to 114, the GOP-led House went far beyond the required two-thirds majority to remove indicted Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from Congress, narrowing their already slim majority.
There were two abstentions and two present votes among Democrats in favor of the measure, while 104 Republicans were in favor of it, reports said.
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) sponsored the expulsion bill after his panel released a report that found “significant evidence” of Santos’ criminal wrongdoing, as Politico reported.
As the vote tally neared, Santos told reporters: “It’s over. They have just established a harmful new standard for themselves.”
“As unofficially already no longer a member of Congress, I no longer have to answer a single question. That is the one thing that I’m going to take forever,” Santos said, refusing to answer further questions from the media.
In an explosive report, Guest’s panel found Santos’ conduct “beneath the dignity of the office and to have brought severe discredit upon the House” and that there was “significant evidence” of Santos’ criminal wrongdoing.
After being asked by a reporter about the possible fate of Santos, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that he had just come from a Republican Conference meeting on Wednesday where there were opinions shared on both sides of the issue.
“I said that the Republican Party is the rule of law team, and we are,” he began. “We believe in the rule of law. There are people of good faith who make an argument, both pro and con” regarding an expulsion resolution for Santos.
“There are people who say you have to uphold the rule of law and allow for someone to be convicted in a criminal court before this tough penalty would exacted” on Santos, Johnson continued. “That’s been the precedent so far.”
But, he countered, “There are others who say upholding the rule of law requires us to take this step now because some of the things he’s alleged to have done…are infractions against the House itself. And so what we’ve said as a leadership team is that we’re gonna allow people to vote their conscience.”
“I think that’s the only appropriate thing we can do,” Johnson went on. “I trust people will make that decision thoughtfully and in good faith.”
Then he added his own personal view: “I personally have real reservations about doing this. I’m concerned about a precedent that may be set for that. Everybody’s working through that and we’ll see how they’ll vote.”
